Becoming Legend
by Nodolfin
Summary: Destiny has played it's hand, and Ash Ketchum must step up and save the world once more. But even with all the friends in the world at his side, this is never an easy task. When Ash and Co. are dragged into an unseen war with the fate of billions at stake, can they find the power within to save the day? PS and CS definitely, more will be named along the way.
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter 1: The Mind Behind the Master Plan_

**Hey there peeps of the internet! You might have guessed, this is a story. It's also my first story! I've been wanting to write for a long while now, and I finally found time in my busy schedule (of GCSE's and DBZ and sandwiches) to actually do some stuff with words. So here we find ourselves. I hope you enjoy, and if you do, drop a review for me. Any kind of criticism helps, i'll be happy to have the response!**

* * *

**January 19th 2014. 12:24PM: Undisclosed Location**

"Your coffee sir."

"Thank you very much Clarissa."

But if Giovanni was actually thankful towards his secretary, he let no sign of it break through the emotionless mask that he carried on his face. He took a small sip, and placed the mug down on the mahogany desk, clasping his hands back together and shifting slightly, turning his leather office chair back towards the large screen on the opposite wall. The small communications room was dark, dark enough that the top half of his face was concealed during his business calls. He reached up to his neck and pressed a button on the side of the voice transformer, repeating the check for the fifth time. As this was his first call with the man on the screen, the voice transformer was simply a formality, as was the fact that this call was currently taking place in one of the Sub-Levels of the Rocket headquarters. While it used to be necessary in the earlier days of Team Rocket that these calls were done in the utmost secrecy, that was no longer fact. Giovanni could have done without in the voice transformer, he was just far to paranoid. He dropped a hand to his side, where his Persian was currently purring at him for attention, and moved his steely gaze to his green haired client.

"So, now I know of your plan, what would you ask of my organization?"

The man gave a slight smirk, the confidence in his eyes matching that of his face.

"I am glad you asked. I would request that you provide me with full assistance and co-operation. For this plan to have a complete success rate, I will need all the resources of Team Rocket at my disposal."

"You are asking a lot of me. A lot more than any other has before."

"If that is a no, then I can easily take my business elsewhere."

"I did not refuse your request, and in future you would do well not to assume things of _me_." The spitting venom behind the last word was a blatant warning to the other man. "I was simply stating that it is a very large 'request'. However I believe, for a large request like that, there is larger reward, correct?"

"Was that an _assumption _my dear Giovanni?"

"Do not play games with me."

"Your reward for your co-operation? Power. More power than you can imagine. For you and the other organizations I have enlisted. Unite with them and me, and when our plan succeeds we may claim the regions of this planet as your own."

The Rocket boss paused for a moment as he went into deep thought. His expression did not change, but the doubt in his eyes could be easily recognized as such. Then quite by chance, his wandering eye flickered past a blueprint on the wall.

It was a blueprint for a cloning tank. His mouth twisted into a cruel grin, and he turned back to face the screen.

"I am not skeptical. I am willing to believe this is what you will offer me and you are not lying. However, I want to say two things: Firstly, know that if you plan to betray me, and I will know if you plan to betray me, then end this call here and now."

After a moment or two of silence, Giovanni resumed talking.

"Good. Now, there is one thing I would ask of you."

"What else could you possibly desire other than ultimate power?"

"There is one thing…. Just one thing…."

After he was done explaining, Giovanni leant back slightly in his chair. Waiting for the man's reply. The man looked puzzled as to Giovanni's request. After a look of careful consideration, he spoke.

"That is reasonable deal, I suppose. But if you can call in extra favors, so can I. There is one last 'request' I would make to you."

"And what might that be?"

Giovanni's green haired client gave a low chuckle.

"There is a boy. A boy by the name of Ash Ketchum. I won't give you too much information, but I will say that he has halted previous plans of mine and I would be very displeased if this were to occur again. I have heard he has been a collective thorn in the sides of many organizations, yours included. I believe that if we try to execute this plan, the Ketchum boy and his companions will do their utmost to stop us, and most likely succeed."

"Afraid of some teenagers and their Pokémon? You underestimate the power of Team Rocket."

"And YOU underestimate him and his friends. They are not just teenagers and Pokémon. I have been tracking their activities for years now. You have no idea what they are capable of, and you do not want to find out. If Ash Ketchum found out that the free world was at stake, he could reduce Team Rocket to Team Rubble in a matter of weeks."

Giovanni was a clever individual. Normally he would not believe such tales. Not only that, but this man was questioning the power of his organization, and that was not a wise move for anyone. However, the Rocket boss could tell that this man was not lying. He could read the serious tone in the man's voice all too well. And there was a slight twitch, a twitch in his left eye when he had used the name. Ketchum. It did seem familiar. Now that he thought about it, far too familiar.

"…Very well. What do you need?"

"I need Ash Ketchum and his friends terminated. It will require your best operatives."

"My best operatives? May I remind you, they are still children, and they will be dealt with as children. However, the job will be done. Contact me if you have any further notices."

And with that, Giovanni clicked a button on his desk, and the screen went blank. He took a moment, and then rose from his seat. Turning to his secretary, he spoke again:

"I am going finish some business here. I would like any information we have on this Ash Ketchum sent to my office. That includes information about any of his Pokémon, friends and family. I will check it over and find out exactly who it is our client is so afraid of."

Clarissa gave a short nod, and stepped into the elevator. As Giovanni heard the vibrant sound of the elevator doors closing, he walked over to the section of wall where the blueprint was attached, and gave it a long hard stare. This was his chance. A chance to finally claim the thing he had desired for so long. The one thing that had eluded him thus far. The only one that ever managed to beat him.

What Giovanni's client didn't understand was this simple lesson, a lesson that the Rocket Boss had taught himself when he first inherited Team Rocket from his father. It was that power is one thing, but absolute control…. That was a completely different thing altogether.

He heard the elevator give another sound as it returned to his floor. He stepped inside, Persian in tow, and pressed the button in the plush luxury elevator for floor 78. As the noise sounded once more and the express elevator began to move up, Giovanni took a moment to straighten the charcoal suit he was wearing. He ran a hand through his hair, and removed a cigarette and a lighter from his suit pocket. He lit the cigarette and placed it in between the lips forming his cold smile. After about a minute of ascension, the doors opened and he stepped out into his office.

The room itself was a very large semi-sphere that domed the top of the Rocket Tower, half of which was a large window that offered amazing views of the city. The Mid-day sun hung in the cloudless sky, the light glaring through the glass and reflecting off the oval glass meeting table in the centre of the room. He moved towards the window, sat down in his personal leather chair and placed the cigarette in the ashtray atop the mahogany desk. He placed his hand on the intercom, and pressed the button.

"Clarissa, I would like any and all information we have in our database on Ash Ketchum."

"Transferring file to you now sir."

Giovanni turned back to the screen, stroking Persian, currently situated on his lap. His computer made a sharp ringing noise, and the files began to pop into view.

_Ash Ketchum_

_Age: 14_

_Profile: _

_Height: 5ft 10"_

_Hair colour: Black_

_Eye colour: Brown_

_Mother: Delia Ketchum_

_Father: Unknown, assumed deceased_

_Siblings: None_

_Occupation/Vocation: Pokémon trainer_

_Notable achievements: _

_Indigo League: Challenger rank, top 16_

_Orange League: Champion rank_

_Whirl cup: Placed 2__nd_

_Silver Conference: Challenger rank, top 8_

_Hoenn League: Challenger rank, top 8_

_Battle Frontier: All symbols obtained, offer to become frontier brain declined_

_Sinnoh League: Challenger rank, top 4_

_Unova League: Challenger rank, top 8_

_Vaguely well-known and skilled trainer, trademark is his unorthodox battling style and ability to prevail in almost hopeless situations._

_Status: Currently traveling through Kalos to compete in the Pokémon League_

_Known associate files: Gary Oak, Brock Harrison, Misty Waterflower, Tracy Sketchit, May Maple, Max Maple, Dawn Berlitz, Iris Adawela, Cilan Dent, Serena Paschall, Clemont Liscio, Bonnie Liscio, Paul Shinji, Drew Hayden, Zoey Williams…__Click to continue_

The list was almost endless. Giovanni was stunned.

Well, maybe that's an overstatement. He was mildly shocked, and reclining slightly in his chair. This Ash Ketchum had met an awful lot of important people. And not just as a passing greeting or at some pokeball signing. Ash Ketchum was quite familiar and friendly with a large amount of Gym Leaders, many of the regional Elite 4, and he was even friends with some of the Champions. Not to mention many of the world's most prestigious Pokémon researchers. It was very odd that Giovanni hadn't had this data brought to his attention before. Team Rocket's unfathomably large database has files on anyone and everyone who has ever come into contact with them and anyone they have connections with, forming a web of information for Rocket's to access, in offices or in the field. Ash Ketchum's connective web was unbelievable. He began to open files for some of the closest connections Ash had. He collected together his 20 closest connections sent them to his secretary. He went to press the button on the intercom, but hesitated.

"_He said Ash Ketchum and his friends were dangerous…. But how dangerous could they be? I doubt they are worth my best agents. And I doubt even further they would require a high profile assassination."_

Giovanni pushed the button.

"Clarissa, I have sent you a few of the data files back. Have the people these files belong to marked amber, and set a tracker drone on each one."

"Of course, sir."

Giovanni turned his chair to observe the bustling metropolis just beyond the window, another of his trademark cruel smirks growing on his face.

"_If you are so special Ash Ketchum, you'll need to prove it. Although, I'm afraid it will be your demise."_

He chuckled, but his dry laughter was cut short when the intercom clicked again with a resounding burst of static.

"I have placed drones on the people you requested, all apart from Ash Ketchum. The report says he already has operatives following him."

"Operatives? What Operatives?" Giovanni scowled at his lucent reflection in the glass.

"The operatives we have following him are…Jezebel Lillis…and Jameson Cathcart. Oh, and there is a third operative." Clarissa narrowed her eyes in puzzlement. "That's odd, his name is just listed as…Meowth.

The Rocket boss was also puzzled at this. He furrowed his brow, and spoke into the intercom once more.

"Do they have a listed objective?" All Team Rocket field agents were required to list their intended goals upon leaving base for any length of time.

"Yes actually… Let me just…" Clarissa opened up the files on the agents. Now she was even more puzzled. "Their objective is just listed as 'To claim the world's most powerful Pikachu.'"

Giovanni slapped a hand to his forehead and sighed with frustration. "Just send the drone, and stop bothering me."

"Of course sir."

* * *

Somewhere far above the Earth, just within it's orbit, a small rock began to shift. It twisted and turned, slowly rotating, beginning to spin faster and faster. As it span, a blue glow emanated from within. It moved closer and closer to the Earth. And then, slowly… It began to fall. It's destination?

Kanto.

* * *

**January 21****st**** 2014. 10:23PM: Pallet Town**

Delia Ketchum was quite content, humming to herself as she washed loaded the dirty dishes into the dishwasher. Her rubber gloves squeaked against the platter, dripping soap on the white tiled floor of the kitchen. She picked up the cutlery on the side, still caked in debris, and rinsed it down. Water splashed across her pink flannel shirt and blue denim jeans, and she turned off the tap and dropped the last of the cutlery in the dishwasher. She closed the door, and set the dial. Standing up again, Delia removed her yellow headband and let her long auburn hair fall to rest at her upper back. As she stood in the house, over the muffled sound of the TV in the other room, she could make out the sound of heavy rain and wind, just behind the drawn blinds of the large kitchen window above the sink.

"_Well… It's good for my garden at least…" _Delia mused. She turned on the spot, and passed through the doorway into the living room. She seated herself on the leather sofa, and allowed herself to relax. The daily chore of washing up was just as boring as any of the other chores, but it got to her most because usually after eating her dinner she just wanted to rest. It never bothered her too much though… She had been doing it for a good sixteen years after all. Picking up the remote, Delia switched to the news. She reclined slightly, sinking into the leathers and immediately forgetting all of her worries as the comfort set in. Her eyes wandered around the room as the news anchor reported on Team Rocket sightings around Vermillion city docks. The woman's drifting gaze eventually settled on a picture hanging on the wall to her far left, just in front of the stairs.

It was a picture of her and Ash at the annual Pallet Town picnic. Ash was probably only about five in the picture, wearing a yellow vest and jean shorts along with a pair of sandals. His jet-black hair splayed out in all different directions, just as messy as ever. They were both sat on their knees on a patchwork rug in the park, surrounded by many of the other resident families of Pallet Town. Prof. Oak had taken that picture, and Gary could be seen just to the side of Ash, having a makeshift 'battle' between his toy squirtle and Ash's toy charmander. The memory brought a smile to her lips, and a little more colour to her eyes. Ash always made her happy, and she loved her son dearly. And yes, though she missed him while he was away on his journey, she was glad he could live his younger years happy and surrounded by people and friends who loved him just as much as she did. The way she could not. Her smile only increased when she remembered he would be home for a week by tomorrow afternoon. Her son…She was so very proud of how he had grown on his journey…

A sudden knock at the door jolted Delia out of thoughts of her son, only to make way for hundreds more.

"_Who an Earth could that be…Especially at this hour… What if something has happened to Ash? What if he's hurt, what if… what if? Stop it Delia, I'm sure Ash is fine. He always is. Now open the door, it's raining outside!"_

Delia quickly sprang to her feet and walked briskly towards the door, swinging it open. The frigid air blasted into the warm Ketchum household, the torrential rain close behind it. Delia gasped at the sight before her.

The redhead on her doorstep looked like she'd just been attacked with a fire hose, water dripping from her rain matted hair on to her pink cotton jacket, covering her usual tank top and jean shorts. Her trademark side ponytail hanging limp, dragged down from the rain, resting just on the shoulder of her shivering form. The Azurill in her arms was in extreme discomfort, wriggling and squeaking and writhing in the girl's grasp.

"Misty! What on Earth...Never mind, come in before you get hypothermia!" Delia ushered Misty into the doorway and shut the door quickly, the cold in the room quickly evaporated. The girl stood in the centre of the room, the carpet beneath her quickly beginning to soak up the water that was cascading to the floor. She looked about ready to start crying.

"Misty…Why are…What…What are you doing here?" Delia stuttered, in utter confusion. Misty opened her mouth as if to say something, but only a small cry escaped her lips, as if she was an infant, whose lungs weren't quite able to function properly yet. She collected herself, and exuded a small sigh. Setting Azurill down on the floor, she looked at Delia, who could see the distress etched into her face, replacing the flame of confidence that usually had residence in her eyes.

"Mrs. Ketchum…I…My sisters…we had an argument, and…I…" Delia Ketchum watched as Misty tried her hardest to articulate. She fidgeted and shifted awkwardly on the spot, grasping at the fabric of her pink jacket sleeves, moving her hands behind her back and tugging at the bright red bag hanging from her shoulders.

And as the tears of frustration slowly began to trickle down Misty's face, Delia's maternal instinct kicked in, and she moved in to embrace the redhead, who instantly grabbed on to Delia's back, grasping desperately for the fabric, burying her head in the woman's shirt. The girl began to sob and shake, and Delia rubbed her hands up and down the girl's back, hushing her and smoothing her soaked hair. They stayed like this for a few minutes, until Delia finally broke their embrace. She held Misty at arms length, the girl's head coming just up to her chin.

There was definitely something quite wrong. Misty rarely _ever _cried. She was a very tough girl, and for her to get upset like this meant something had gone bad.

Misty started to apologize, but Delia gave her a stern look. "Misty Waterflower, don't you dare apologize for anything. Especially when you don't have anything to apologize for." Misty looked startled, and Delia's face became compassionate and loving, a look she had only seen used on Ash before now. "I imagine you want to talk, and so do I, but I think maybe it would be best if you went upstairs and had a relaxing shower first. If you don't have some pajamas or at least a spare change of clothes in your bag then I'm sure there are some pajamas in Ash's room that you can borrow. You go and calm yourself down a bit sweetie, and I'll fix you something to eat. Then we'll talk, okay?"

Misty wiped the last few tears from her puffy eyes and nodded, before sheepishly moving towards the staircase as Delia walked into the kitchen to prepare food. Just before Misty was out of sight, Delia turned round and called up to her.

"Misty?"

"Uh…y-yes Mrs. Ketchum?"

"I remind you every time you come round just to call me Delia, don't I?"

"O-okay Delia…Sorry." Misty gave her reply in a sheepish tone.

Delia looked to the floor and shook her head, a small smile on her face. "I told you, there is no need to apologize sweetie." She spoke kindly, before turning and walking through the doorway.

* * *

Misty stepped out of the shower, steam whirling in the air as she wrapped a warm towel around herself. She walked over to the wall fan and pulled the switch, sending a resounding click throughout the room. After drying her body off, she put on her…Undergarments. She wrapped the towel back round herself (She was in another person's house after all. And as well as she knew Delia, she didn't think it would be a good idea if she was found traipsing around the house in nothing but her unmentionables) and quickly checked her bag. No pajamas. She had forgotten to pack them before storming out of the gym. Sighing with irritation, she marched towards Ash's room. She grabbed the handle, and was just about to fling it open, before realizing what she was about to do and promptly jumping away from the door as though a nest of Spinarak had tried to crawl out. She couldn't quite say why, but something in her head had screamed a defiant 'NO' when she tried to open the door. She supposed that for some reason, she had thought Ash might be in there. And as much as she wished it to be so, she knew that right now, with her in nothing but a towel, knickers and a bra, that it probably wouldn't be very good of her to bound in like a crazed Buneary.

"It's not like he would notice anyway…He is Ash Ketchum, after all." She sighed to herself, pushing the door open. She walked hurriedly over to Ash's Oakwood dresser and looked in the top drawer for some pajamas to wear. Pulling out a short-sleeved Charizard patterned top and matching long bottoms, she removed the towel and quickly dressed herself, wanting to be out of his room as fast as possible.

Then she looked up, and gave a small gasp at what she saw. All thoughts of leaving his room disappeared when she saw the collection of memorabilia on display.

On top of the dresser was a collection of Ash's league trophies. All of them polished and shining, catching the light from the bulb that illuminated his room. And in perfect order too, going from his first in Kanto, all the way to his latest, all the way from Unova. In front of them were his badge cases and Pokedex's. The badge cases were open, displaying all the badges he had won. On the wall behind them, all of Ash's victory certificates were framed, along with his frontier symbols. Not a single one had even the tiniest speck of dust on them. She turned around in the room; pictures of and posters of Pokémon from all around the World were dotted around the walls. Then her eyes caught sight of something in the corner of the room, near the door. Stepping over his Snorlax beanbag, currently resting against the edge of his bunk bed, she moved towards it. And instead of gasping, all she could do was give a smile. Placed neatly on the wall was another collection of frames. Only these frames contained photographs. Some were with him, some without. But all of them contained one or more of his friends. There was a picture of him with his arms around May and Max's shoulders standing on Mt. Chimney. A picture of him, Brock and Dawn at the Alamos town Pokémon contest. A picture of him and Gary at around age 4, climbing a tree in the park at Pallet Town. One of him, Iris and Cilan on the Skyhook Bridge. Another of him, Pikachu and Charizard sat with Molly and Delia, laughing at something unknown. Finally, she found the picture of Ash, Brock and Her, the one that had been taken by Todd in the Johto region.

Looking down to the small table beneath all of these photos, she found a collection of items. There was a wooden Teddiursa from May, sitting next to half of a broken Pokeball that he shared with Gary. There was a Pokémon summer academy diploma, and two soothe bells sat on top of a focus band. Just above this was half of a terracotta ribbon.

What was beginning to worry Misty though, was that out of all the items there, not a single one of the things she had given Ash could be found. Before she could start looking though, there was a shout from downstairs.

"Misty, your food is ready!"

Suddenly overcome with something close to what five year-olds might feel if caught with their hand in a cookie jar, Misty's head snapped up and she started a fast paced walk towards the door. However, before she could leave, she caught sight of one last thing, hanging on the edge of the Ash's bunk bed. Something she couldn't believe she had missed before.

Hanging from the post was an object she thought she might never see again. A red and white cap, bearing the simple green Pokémon League symbol. She gave a slight chuckle, before closing the door and walking down the stairs.

Misty moved into the kitchen and seated herself at the table against the wall, where a fresh plate of scrambled eggs on toast was waiting for her. Delia busied herself with cleaning as misty ate, humming tunes to herself as she wiped anything she could find. As soon as Misty was finished, Delia took her plate and put it in the sink.

"Thank you for the food Mrs. Ket—Uh, Delia. It was really tasty!" Misty gave a beaming smile to Delia, who smiled in return.

"I'll finish washing this plate, you go and sit yourself in the front room, and I'll be in once I'm done." Delia spoke in a very calming tone, and Misty's stress seemed to fade away when she talked. Misty stood up from her seat on the wooden chair, and after tucking it in, walked into the living room and seated herself on the sofa. The news was still on the TV, and it was on the Kalos section of reports now. Delia came in and sat beside her, then muted the TV. Turning to Misty, she started to speak.

"So, Misty, why are you here? What happened with your sisters that would make you go through that kind of weather so you could speak to me about it?"

"Well… I…" Misty hesitated, stuttering and beginning to panic, until Delia placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Sweetie, it's okay. Just calm down, and tell me what happened."

Misty took a deep breath. And then…

"Okay. I had a big argument with my sisters. A BIG argument. Not the playful kind we normally have. Basically, here's how it happened…."

**32 hours earlier, Cerulean City gym**

"Oh for the love of…" Misty put a palm to her face as she surveyed the counter at the reception, which was unfortunately devoid of the money she had placed there earlier that day. Giving a heavy sigh, she walked past the reception and up the stairs, into the small apartment space built into the Cerulean gym. As she stomped up the railed spiral staircase, she heard the distinct noise of someone scrambling around in the room above her. Opening the door to their living room, she looked around, seeing only Violet sat on the sofa in front of the TV displaying a rerun of an episode of Supernatural. An episode that Misty would have watched, where she not focused on finding out who stole her money. She picked up the remote, and switched the TV off.

"Misty, what the hell? I was watching that. I need to know what happens to Castiel!" Violet shouted standing up from her seat to tower over Misty, a move that didn't intimidate the redhead in the slightest.

"Cut the crap Vi. Where's the money? I need it for Pokémon food." Misty was beginning to grow irritable. Not exactly abnormal for her, but still pretty damn scary.

"Well...Y'see Misty…Uh…. It was Lil's idea. Yeah, like, totally all Lil's idea." Violet spoke quickly, twiddling her thumbs and looking at the floor.

"Oh, it was Lil's idea, was it?" Misty said, with a venomous edge to her voice. "What exactly was Lil's idea Vi? Do tell."

It was at this point that Lily and Daisy decided to waltz into the room with bag's full of shopping. They dropped the bags down on the floor of the kitchenette, and dropped themselves down on the sofa, picking up a magazine from the floor and burying their faces in it. Misty looked over to the shopping, and back to Violet, who had a sheepish look on her face, trying to hide the gold bangles that Daisy had just handed to her.

"You spent the money…For the Pokémon…ON SHOPPING?!" Misty shouted at trio, Violet appearing to be the only one who looked in any way remorseful.

"Yeah. We did. Like, so what? Those Pokémon are big enough already Misty. Most of those Pokémon don't do a thing. And we, like, have to make sure we keep up with what's fashionable right now." Lily snorted, peering over the cover of her magazine.

"She's like, totally right Misty, you don't need Pokémon food as much as we need new clothes. What's more important, fashion, or your stupid Pokémon battles?" Daisy and Violet said in unison. Violet seemed to have perked up, seeing the encouragement from her sisters as justification for what they had done.

Misty's face flushed a bright crimson hue. A vein popped out on her forehead. She growled at her sisters, and snatched the magazines from their grasp. Then, she opened the window, and viciously tore them to shreds, letting the bits of paper flutter out in to the breeze.

"Hey! I was reading tha—"

"SHUT UP! NOW!" Misty yelled, startling Daisy, cutting her sentence short. Daisy promptly fell back on to the sofa, and Misty looked at all of them with an expression so angry it could put a Primeape to shame. Misty saw Violet begin to open her mouth, and immediately silenced her with a terrifying scowl.

"All of you be quiet. Unless the next words you say are 'Sorry Misty, I'll go get these clothes refunded and help you scrub the damn floors for once' then you can just shut up. Because you can insult me and ridicule me and hurt me all you like, but you don't ever, ever talk about the Pokémon like that. They work their butts off in battles and shows like you can't even imagine, keeping the gym running and putting food on all of our plates. And that money you spent to buy clothes? That was the small amount of money that I set aside for them and myself so that I can get them something nice for all their hard work every once in a while. I am sick and tired of you all being so selfish and coasting off everything I do, everything the Pokémon do. We don't earn that money for you, we earn it so we can keep the gym running. And you don't deserve a single scrap of that money if you can't even acknowledge everything they give for us. So, you're going to return these clothes and get the money back before I strangle all three of you. Because I don't get new things every month, I sacrifice stuff like that to keep the gym operating and all of us happy. Do you know when the last time I bought anything for myself was? It was three mewdamn months ago! And you want to know what it was? It was a cheapo charm bracelet for four pokedollars. And the Pokémon? They get even less than I do. So either suck it up and start helping out, or find your own damn jobs!" Misty was panting breathlessly after finishing her rant. She looked over her three sisters, and was quite satisfied with the result of her shouting. Violet and Daisy looked very remorseful.

But then she saw Lily. Lily, who looked the picture of arrogance. Lily, who stood up, with an apparently prepared speech of her own.

"You know what Misty? How about you, like, shut up for once? I'm, like, totally sick of you criticizing us just 'cause we know what fashion is, and you weren't born as beautiful as we were. You're just jealous 'cause you are a smelly little runt kid who doesn't know what she's talking about half the time. You're just jealous because people like us more than they like you, because you're a ginger freak. I've had enough of you, like, acting all big 'cause you do a few battles and some shows. We've done shows before, and battles can't be that hard to do. And you're precious 'Pokémon' can go f—"

Lily didn't get to say much more though, because Misty had speared her into the wall, and was beating into her shocked face with her fists. She didn't get many chances to hit her though, as Violet and Daisy pried her off hastily. Misty kicked and punched at them, and when they finally let go, she stormed off down the hallway with rage etched into her features. She kicked the door open to her room and punched the wave-patterned wallpaper in frustration. Hearing a startled cry from her bed, she turned to see a very scared looking Azurill sat whimpering on her bed. She took a moment to breath, and she moved forward and gently picked up Azurill, hushing his soft whimpers.

"Azu…Azurill?" The young Pokémon spoke cautiously. Misty didn't know exactly what he was saying, but being his pseudo mother, she could make an educated guess.

"Mommy's fine Azurill. Mommy is just fine.

As it was apparent to Misty, her soothing wasn't exactly convincing the baby Pokémon, who still looked anguished at the appearance of Misty and the tears slowly dripping down her cheeks.

The gym leader tried to think of a way to make both of them feel better.

Then, an idea popped into her head. She turned to her desk and picked up her red bag. She looked down at Azurill and gave him a little smile, before speaking in a motherly tone.

"Azurill, how would you like to go on a little journey with the other Pokémon down to see auntie Delia?"

"Azurill!" Azurill cried happily, before settling herself in Misty's arms. Misty placed Azurill back on the bed. She opened up her bag, and began to move around the room collecting various items she would require for her spontaneous journey. She packed a few spare clothes, her pokeballs, her purse, and some other items of value. She put on her light pink cardigan over her usual outfit and slung the bag across her shoulder. She walked out of her room and shut the door. Walking down the stairs and past the reception, she went into the pool area, where all of her Pokémon were playing.

"Everyone! We're going on a trip for a few days! I'll take everyone I can with me, and send the rest of you over to Professor Oak! We're going to leave this stinkin' gym for a little while."

Her Pokémon looked confused, but nonetheless complied. She brought Gyarados, Politoed, Staryu, Starmie, Corsola and Azurill with her on her belt, and put the rest in her bag to be transferred by Nurse Joy. Turning on her heel, she walked through the reception, where she found her sisters waiting for her at the door.

"Misty…I'm really sor—" Lily began, but for the last time that day Misty cut off her sister of mid-sentence.

"Don't even try it Lily. I have no idea why you are being this childish. But you can stop right now. You can all start relying on yourselves from now on. You're all as bad as eachother. Put your energy into finding some Pokémon that can love spoiled brats. You're going to need them if you want to keep them gym running."

And with that, Misty pushed past her stunned sisters and walked away.

**32 hours later, Pallet Town**

"What do I do Delia? We haven't had an argument like that since I was ten. I basically walked out on them and left the gym in their hands? What if I can't go back? What if they hate me forever now? They do stupid things, and say stupid things, and have a tendency to make me really mad, sure enough. But that's what sister's do, right? Maybe I overreacted. But what if they won't let me apologize? I've screwed up bad, haven't I? Oh brother…" Misty dropped her head into her palms as a gesture of defeat. Delia however, looked very thoughtful. She cupped her chin with her hand, and stared hard at the plain green wall behind the television, blocking out all sound. Then, a thought struck her like one of Pikachu's famed thunderbolts. She turned to Misty, who was still wallowing in sadness, and spoke.

"Misty. You know you said the last time you argued like this was when you were ten? Well, what exactly did you do after the argument?"

Misty adopted Delia's previous look of thoughtfulness. "Well…it was a lot like this argument, now that I think about it. It was about my goal to become a Water Pokémon Master. They said that my dream to achieve that goal was pointless, and I should give it up. I got so angry that I left with my bag on my back… and… got a travel bus heading to Viridian City. That was a day before I met Ash. I slept overnight in Viridian and went fishing just up the road in the morning."

Delia suppressed her smile at how Misty's eyes gave a little twinkle when she said Ash's name. Instead, she focused on the matter at hand.

"So… the last time you had an argument like this, you left on your journey?" Delia quizzed.

"Yeah...What's your point?" Misty looked mildly confused, but too focused on her plight to try and care.

Delia drew in a soft breath. And then she gave her solution.

"I think that since you returned, stress has been building. Not just for you, but for your sisters as well. It's not that any of you hate eachother, it's simply that staying cooped up with people who irritate you for long enough will begin to have an effect. Your stress builds up, but because you are smarter than most, you hold in your stress, dealing with it in small doses, which is why you have lots of little arguments with your sisters. But after a while, that stops working. The big argument you had was your mind hitting it's breaking point, and your sisters get just as stressed as you do. That's why they acted the way they did. I know enough of your sisters to know they wouldn't normally say things like that about your Pokémon. They've grown past that being their regular behavior. But this was their release as well. Now think about it this way. The last time you left home, you had your adventures with Ash and Brock, right? Am I right when I say that those were some of the best years of your life?

"Do you even need to ask that question?" Misty replied with a wistful smile. Delia responded with a chuckle.

"Probably not. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, you didn't feel the stress you did on your adventures like you do at home. You were happy on your adventures, much happier than you've been in a while, judging by the state you turned up here in. When you were journeying, you were able to relax every once in a while. I know you love your job as the gym leader, but not as much as adventuring with Ash and all of his and your friends. You've had enough stress for a lifetime Misty. I know how hard you work. But your sisters, as much as you love them, don't help you at all. And when they don't help, you don't react well. I think it's time they took some responsibility. You've had to take it all, which you shouldn't have, because you are much younger than them. They should take control of the Gym, and you should go on your journeys again. The best days of your life shouldn't have ended at age twelve Misty. You're only just fifteen now. You need more excitement in your life. So phone them up tomorrow, then tell them that you are sorry for getting so angry, but they need to take responsibility for their own livelihood now. Send some of your Pokémon back, and they can learn how to battle and be Gym Leaders again. If they can't then they can call up someone to fill the position of Gym Leader while you are away. Is that all clear?"

Misty looks to the floor, contemplating Delia's suggestions. She furrows her brow in thought. Then slowly, the tension faded from her face, and she began to laugh with genuine happiness. Delia smiled, and Misty pulled her in for a hug. Still smiling, Misty pulls back from the hug.

"Do you think Professor Oak will let me use his video-phone so I can talk to Ash tomorrow?"

Delia gave a wry smile. "I don't think you'll need to worry about calling him dear."

Misty looked confused. "Why not?" Misty asks in a puzzled tone.

"Misty, didn't I tell you? He's coming home for a week tomorrow."

Misty's thought for a moment that her stomach actually did a little back flip when she heard Delia say that. Millions of things went through her head at that point, some good, some bad, some inappropriate for a story rated T. But before she could even begin to form those thoughts into coherent sentences, Delia broke in.

"Well, I imagine you're very tired after the past few days. I think it's time you got some proper rest for once, now that you don't have anything to stress about. You can sleep in Ash's bed tonight, and I'll have a guest bedroom set up for you by tomorrow. Go on then, off you go!" Delia said in a singsong voice, ushering Misty upstairs.

"Mrs. Ketchum, I—"

"How many times to I need to say it dear? My friends call me Delia! Now go and get some sleep."

Misty walked slowly up the stairs, thinking that Delia didn't quite realize what she had actually said when she had told Misty that Ash was going to be in the same house as her in 24 hours. However, Delia knew exactly what she had done. Because as much as Misty would hate to hear it, her adoring of the trainer from Pallet was far more obvious than she herself knew.

"But still not as obvious as Brock with a Nurse Joy in the room…" Delia muttered under her breath as she resumed her seat on the sofa.

Somewhere in the centre of Goldenrod city, a tall man with spiked black hair sat working at a desk covered in papers in a small Doctor's office. His head suddenly snapped up and he jumped out of his seat, causing Nurse Joy to jump from her position next to his desk, and his white lab coat to whip around his legs.

"Is something the matter, Brock?" She inquired, a quizzical expression on her face.

Brock slowly turned his head round, and anyone in the room with a compass could have told you that (With the removing of a few obstacles and sight only previously found with superman) he was looking directly at Pallet town.

"I sense… a disturbance… never mind. Let's get back to our work Joy."

She gave him an odd look, and then slowly nodded. Turning back to her papers, not noticing the… Overly affectionate gaze Brock Harrison was giving her behind her back.

* * *

**And there you go! Like I said, if you liked it, drop a review, and the next chapter should be up in a couple of weeks, if not then a little sooner. Catch ya later!**


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2: The Deepest Blue_

**So, here's chapter two! Enjoy it. Please. Please? I'll give you a cookie. No, I shouldn't, that's cookie bribery. Plus, I don't have any cookies. **

**Damn, now I want cookies.**

* * *

**January 22****nd****, 11:02 AM: Pallet Town Outskirts**

"Well everyone, here it is! Home sweet home!"

Ash Ketchum stood at the edge of the ridge overlooking Pallet Town. He stretched his arms into the air; his onyx-black hair waving slightly as a warm breeze blew across the valley that his hometown rested in. His blue jacket was ruffled lightly, black trousers and red sneakers covered in dust and mud from the long winding roads and forest between Viridian city and Pallet, still wet from rain showers the night before. Taking a step back, he spun to face the people stood behind him, currently in awe of the sight before them.

"Whaddya think of Pallet Town then?" Ash gestured to the town below, pushing the bill of his red and white cap up from over his soft maroon eyes and lightly tanned face, the silly lopsided grin never leaving him. Pikachu yawned from his shoulder, jumping down to the floor and stretching his yellow paws in front of him, twitching his lightning-bolt tail.

"It's very pretty, I have to say." Clemont spoke, gazing into the Valley, the summer sunlight dancing on the lenses of his glasses as he moved closer to the edge of the ridge. Behind him, Serena gave a contented sigh as she removed her light pink hat from her head, smoothing down her blonde hair with one soft, pale hand.

"It's been a long time since I was here last…" She said wistfully, moving to stand with Clemont, who was currently fiddling with something in the top pocket of his light-blue jumpsuit . Then she turned to Ash, occupying his same smile on her own face. "I can't wait to see it all again!" She exclaimed.

"And I can't wait to meet all of your Pokémon Ash!" Bonnie shouted, jumping up and down and waving her arms up and down in the air. "I bet you have _soooo _many!"

"De! Dedenne!" A small cry came from Bonnie's yellow pouch tucked just above her short white skirt and black leggings. The creature known as Dedenne popped it's head out of the bag to view the sight of Pallet Town in the valley below.

"Well, you may need to wait a little longer yet Bonnie, from the looks of it, it'll take another hour or so to get down there from where we are now." Clemont mused, looking down the side of the ridge they were on. Bonnie gave a pout, and crossed her arms over her olive green vest top, her bleach blonde side ponytail flicking slightly with her irritation. "But bro, I wanna see the Pokémon now!" Clemont turned to her with a stern look. "Well, you just have to be patient." He adjusted his circular rimmed glasses and turned to Ash. "Isn't that right Ash?"

"Actually…" Ash rubbed the back of his neck. "I _did _arrange a shortcut for us. It looks like we might need to give it another few minutes though…"

Everyone else looked puzzled. Serena opened her mouth to ask Ash what he meant, but she was cut off by two sudden loud noises, which made everyone but Ash and Pikachu jump.

The first was the unmistakable screech of a bird Pokémon. And the second was a booming roar that was so loud it actually kicked up dust into the air on the ridge. Before anyone could ask what was going on, two shapes shot up from over the side of the ridge. One was a grey blur, and the other was an orange streak. As they stopped a few feet above the gang, Clemont recognized one as a Staraptor…And the other as a Charizard. He was about to shout for everyone to run, then he realized how calm Ash looked.

"Ash… are these Pokémon yours?" Bonnie asked in total awe of the beasts in flight above her.

"You bet. You guys, come on down!"

"_Charr!"_

"_Raap!"_

The two Pokémon descended, Staraptor landing gracefully, placing herself carefully on the ground. Charizard landed with a heavy thud, making the earth shake beneath his towering form. Ash moved towards Charizard and hopped on his back, placing his arms on the shoulders of the firedrake.

"Clemont, you can ride on Charizard with me and Pikachu. Serena, you and Bonnie ride down on Staraptor."

Serena clambered on top of Staraptor's back, and extended her hand to Bonnie. Bonnie looked very anxious about the notion of riding on Staraptor.

"It's alright Bonnie, Staraptor won't let you fall. She's a great flyer." Ash grinned at Bonnie. Charizard snorted at this, and Staraptor shot him a glare, before turning her head back to Bonnie and extending a wing out in a gesture of friendship. Bonnie still looked apprehensive, but climbed on to Staraptor's back nonetheless.

"Everyone ready?" The gang nodded towards Ash. "Then let's go!"

With Ash's approval, the two Pokémon gave a flap of their massive wingspan and took to the skies. Bonnie yelped as Staraptor took off, grabbing on to Serena's hand, who promptly put her other hand to the back of the frightened nine year-old.

'Are you alright Bonnie? Do you want to go back down and walk?" Serena asked in a kind tone.

'No… no, I'm fine. This actually isn't all that bad!" Bonnie smiled to Serena, who returned the gesture with a laugh.

Meanwhile, with Charizard, Ash was pointing out landmarks from around his hometown to Clemont.

"…And there's Professor Oak's lab. That's where all my Pokémon are. See, he has this huge area of land that he owns, and there's a field and a forest, rivers and a lake and a big rocky crag near the back looking over the ocean." Ash finished his explaining, gesturing to the land below.

"That's awesome! I can't wait to meet the famous Professor Oak. I hear that Oak himself is a scientist as well as a Pokémon researcher. And I'd love to show him…" Clemont stopped halfway through his sentence, because something caught his eye over the distant hills.

"Wow… that's one big mountain…" He spoke slowly observing the gargantuan snow-capped peak that almost seemed to pierce the very sky itself with its unfathomable height.

"Oh, that mountain? That's Mount Silver. At the base, they hold a tournament for Pokémon League trainers called the 'Silver Conference' once every year, usually during the summer. I competed in it a long time ago. Came in the top eight as well, but I was beaten by a guy named Harrison and his Blaziken…" Ash stopped for a moment, his eyes glazing over with memory of the tournament, before shaking "Anyway, the tournament is held at the base of the mountain, but the mountain itself is off limits to anyone who isn't the current or a previous League Champion. The mountain is filled with loads of really tough Pokémon. And they don't take kindly to strangers. There are some rumors that a legendary trainer makes his home in the caves of the mountain, waiting for a worthy challenger to face him. But there are a lot of stories about that place, I guess. Professor Oak would be the one to talk t'ya about that. He's got loads of books on stuff like that." Ash suddenly noticed that they were nearing home, snapping him out of his reverie.

"Hey Clem, are you hungry? Cause my mom always makes a ton of food for everyone when we have guests." Ash said, obviously trying to hold back from salivating at the thought of all the food.

"Ash, after traveling with you for a good month and a half, I'm pretty sure that you could finish off whatever we don't eat." Clemont said with a chuckle.

"Hey, you don't hear me complainin' about that." Ash laughed, holding his hands up in mock defense.

Charizard swooped down in front of the white fence surrounding the front garden of the Ketchum residence, giving a final flap of his immense wings as he landed, sending another shockwave through the earth. Staraptor landed with poise and grace next to him, and everyone dismounted from their respective Pokémon.

"Thanks Charizard, Staraptor. I'll be up at the lab soon, so feel free to tell everyone I'm comin', 'kay? Ash said, nodding up to the hill where Oak's lab sat. Both Pokémon nodded, and turned away. Staraptor flew off quickly, giving a resounding caw into the distance. As Charizard prepared to fly, Ash stopped him.

"Hey Charizard?"

Charizard turned his head, and saw Ash and Pikachu holding out their fists. He grinned, stepping towards them and clenching his massive clawed fingers into the same fist. He quickly bumped fists with Ash and Pikachu, before taking off, flying fast in a bid to catch up with Staraptor.

Serena smiled at Ash after seeing this gesture. "_Ash, you can be so cute sometimes without even knowing it."_ She thought to herself, a slight blush overtaking her cheeks as he passed her, running towards his front door.

Ash grandly swung the door open, kicking off his red trainers. "MOM, I'M HOOOME!" He shouted, announcing his presence. He walked around the front room, looking for any sign of his mom. A piece of paper on the sofa caught his eye, and he picked it up, reading the note.

_Ash,_

_If I'm still out when you're reading this, Me and Mimey have just gone to do some shopping at the Pokémart. Shouldn't be too long, tell your friends to make themselves at home. Also, there is some chocolate cake for you all in the fridge, help yourselves. Just make sure you freshen up a bit before you eat._

_Mom_

_P.S: When I say the cake is for all of you, I mean it. Don't go scarfing it all down yourself dear, I know what you're like._

Ash smiled at the note, before placing it back on the sofa, and heading towards the kitchen. He stopped halfway though. "_Better clean up first." _ Ash thought to himself, turning on the spot and heading up the stairs. Pikachu patted him on the back of the head, acknowledging his good decision. Walking slowly up the stairs, Ash moved towards the bathroom door, but stopped dead when he heard movement coming from his bedroom.

"_Mom is out…So…Is someone robbing us?" _ Ash's sense went into full alert, and he moved cautiously towards his door, feeling Pikachu's fur prickle against his neck, and feeling the warm heat of the sparks coming from the little yellow Pokémon's cheeks. He put a hand on the doorknob, and jumped inside, almost shouting "AHA!" as he did so, but he stopped himself, realizing that would be a bad move if the 'intruder' didn't know he was here yet. Surveying the room, he couldn't see any intruders… but then he saw the lump under his bed covers. Creeping slowly towards the ladder, he climbed the side of the bed, and quickly tore the covers from his bed.

What he saw next surprised him so much he fell off the bed and banged his head on the radiator beneath the window behind him. For there in his bed, Misty Waterflower lay, wearing his Pikachu pajamas, in total shock from her rude awakening. She quickly recovered from this however, when she saw Ash bang his head on the radiator.

"Ash! Ash, are you alright?" She yelped, vaulting over the side of the bed and landing shakily on the floor in front of him.

"Ow…Ow…Ow…Ow…Pain…Ow." She heard him mutter, which put her worries about him being hurt to rest. Now all she had to worry about was the fact that he had just discovered her asleep in his bed, wearing his pajamas. Maybe if she ran now, then he would forget about her presence and she could meet him downstai—

"Urgh… M-Misty?"

Nope. Too late.

"Um…H-hey… Hey Ash…"She swallowed heavily, casting her eyes to the floor as a fierce blush crept along her cheeks.. "If you were wondering why I was in your bed… It's…Um…Kind of a long story…Heh…" She gave an awkward, shaky smile, wondering how bad Ash would shout at her. She knew she would give a piece of her mind to anyone she found them wearing _her _pajamas in _her _bed.

There was a long moment of silence. It felt very awkward for Misty, as Ash was just stood there…_looking_. Not in a creepy way, or a mean way, or any other way she could think of other than just looking. Like he was actually thinking about the action, not just doing it unconsciously. She braced herself for whatever was about to happen. And then…

"You're hair looks _real _messy. You should probably brush it at some point, because I never remember it looking this dumb." Ash chortled.

On Ash's shoulder, Pikachu slapped his hand to his forehead.

This comment caught Misty off guard for a moment, but she forgot all about her confusion as soon as her brain registered the sneaky insult. She immediately realized what Ash was doing, and grinned to herself, before looking up at smirking at him.

"Is that so Ketchum? Well, as far as I know, your hair _always _looked dumb. I doubt you could make it look good if you tried."

Ash looked at her, and she knew exactly what was coming.

"Could too."

Misty could only just resist the ecstatic grin tugging at her lips as she shot daggers in Ash's direction.

"Could not.

"Could too."

"Could not!"

"Could too!"

"COULD NOT!"

"COULD TOO!"

Their faces were just inches away from eachother, and they were both growling angrily. And then, Misty couldn't help herself. She burst out laughing, and Ash soon followed suit. The laughter soon grew louder and louder, until the pair were howling and heaving with delight. Ash fell back into a the wall, and Misty fell to her knees, tears of laughter forming in her eyes as she tried desperately to stand again. Eventually, the laughs wore off, and the pair regained their composure, still grinning at eachother.

"I can't remember the last time I laughed that much…Hello to you to Ash." Ash gave her his traditional lopsided grin. Pikachu leapt from his shoulder and into her arms, shouting "Pikachupi!", startling her. But she recovered, and gave the little yellow creature a tight hug. "And hello to you too Pikachu!" She smiled at the electric mouse Pokémon as he swiftly hopped from her grasp, back onto his perch on Ash's shoulder.

Then she remembered she was still in Ash's pajamas, and her blush returned. But before she could stutter an apology, Ash stopped her.

"Don't worry about borrowing my stuff, it's fine. I'm sure my mom will had good reason to lend it ya, right? So don't worry. It's almost twelve though Mist, so you might wanna get dressed. Make sure you hurry it up though, 'cause I gotta get changed too. It is my room after all." Ash moved towards the door, but stopped just short of leaving.

"We'll catch up on things soon, 'kay? It's been a little over 4 months since we last talked on the phone, so I wanna know what you've been doing with your life. Also, you can wear the pajamas, but don't steal any of my clothes!" He shouted, before closing the door and padding down the hallway.

Misty stared at the door, contemplating a lot of things just for a little while. Well, she contemplating as much as her brain would allow, still reeling from the shock of Ash suddenly being there.

"Oh man…He never stopped being cute. Mewdammit Ash Ketchum, why did I never grow out of my crush on you?" Misty grumbled, slowly making her move towards the door. She gave another involuntary yelp as it suddenly opened and Ash poked his head around through the gap.

"One last thing, don't even think about touching my hats!" He yelled, before slamming the door and bolting down the stairs as he heard Misty growl with anger. For real this time.

"Ash sure is taking his sweet time, huh?" Clemont looked at Serena, then back to the stairs in a purposeful manner.

"I hope he hurries up. All of Ash's talk about his mom's cooking has made me real hungry." Serena looked down and put a hand to her stomach, feeling it grumble in protest at not being fed for a good four hours. As she sat down on the arm of the sofa, she heard Bonnie mumble something, and turned to face her, straightening her pink hat as she did so.

"What's up Bon?" Serena said with concern.

"I'm just tired of waiting. I reeeeaaallly wanna meet Ash's Pokémon now. Seriously. If he doesn't hurry up then I'm gonna just go to Oak's lab myself." Bonnie folded her arms.

"Not a chance, sis." Clemont chuckled. "You aren't going anywhere on your own. Not after all the trouble I get put through when you disappear."

"I have no clue what you're talking about big bro."

"Oh, so you don't remember our little trip to the Pokéball factory then?" Clemont leaned against the wall and pushed his glasses up from the bridge of his nose. Bonnie looked at him and pouted, folding her arms.

"That was one time! One time! It's not my fault that conveyer belts look fun. Once a criminal always a criminal, jeez…"

"Yeah, you're right little sis. Conveyer belts DO look fun. That is, until you are trapped in the machine they lead to, right Bon?" As Bonnie turned red, Serena started to giggle. Then, a loud thump sounded from upstairs, causing Clemont to yelp in fear, and Serena to explode into laughter, along with Bonnie. They continued to laugh, eventually falling to the floor with tears forming in their eyes, while Clemont stood in the corner, face flushed red and hands clenched into fists. Ash came bounding down the stairs with Pikachu in tow, and both of them looked extremely surprised at what they were witnessing.

"Uh… is everything okay?" Ash cocked an eyebrow, as Pikachu shrugged and hopped to the floor, trotting off into the kitchen.

"We're just fine. Let's get something to eat." Clemont spoke through gritted teeth as Serena and Bonnie held back more waves of laughter. He turned on his heel and followed Pikachu, mumbling something about getting them back. Serena and Bonnie eventually managed to pick themselves up off the floor and follow, faces red and eyes watering. This just left a confused Ash stood in the living room. He sat down on the sofa and took his hat off, rubbing the back of his head. He stared at the blank TV screen, thinking (Something Ash did a lot more often than people give him credit for) about nothing in particular while waiting for Misty. Serena popped her head through the doorway.

"Uh…Ash? Aren't you gonna come and get something to eat? We're all pretty hungry you know."

"Oh, I gotta wait for Misty. She's getting ready, but I need to get ready too cause mom said that I can't eat until I'm clean. There's some chocolate cake in the fridge for us all to share." Ash said with a smile, only seeing Serena look even more confused.

"Misty? You mean your friend, the gym leader?"

Ash mentally slapped himself. He had completely forgotten to mention that Misty was there with them. Then again, he'd only found out himself a few minutes ago.

"Uh…Yeah. Misty's here. I forgot to say. She's upstairs. I'll introduce you guys when she's ready." Ash rubbed the back of his neck and looked away from her, feeling embarrassed that he had completely forgotten to say anything. Serena, quite by contrast, suddenly looked very excited.

"Oh wow! That's great, I can't wait to meet her! I'll tell the others, shout us when you're both ready!" Serena suddenly disappeared back into the kitchen, leaving Ash alone in the living room. He got up and walked to the window behind the TV, folding his arms and leaning against the sill and sighing.

He loved being home. Feeling the warm Pallet sun on his back, watching the light dance on the surface of the shallows of the sea. The smell of the freshly cut grass that lingered in the air, the sight of the Pidgey that flocked and roosted in the parks and forest; It all felt like home. And he loved every second of it.

Not to say he didn't love traveling just as much. He enjoyed the thrill and sense of adventure from being on the road, just him and his friends. But it was nice to come home, if just for a little while.

Ash thoughts were interrupted when the front door opened, allowing Delia and her faithful Mr. Mime to stumble in, carrying two bags of shopping each. He ran towards his mom, putting his hands under the bags and lifting them from her grasp, and she gave a sigh with the relief of the weight being removed. Ash set the shopping down on the floor, and as he turned to greet his mom, he was already enveloped in a bone-crushing hug.

"Ash! You're back! It's so great to see you honey! I've missed you so much, well, not that much since it's only been a few months and you're always tracking mud over the house and eating everything, but still, I'm your mother and I'm allowed to miss you and—"

"M-mom…Air…Please…" Ash strained to talk as the air was squeezed out of his lungs by his mother's surprising strength. She quickly let go and held him at arms length. "I'm sorry, I got a little carried away sweetie. But I have missed you, and don't you forget it." Ash chuckled giving his mom a proper hug.

"It's okay Mom, chill. I never forget!"

"I know sweetie, I know." She smiled at her son as she let go, both of them taking a bag of shopping and moving towards the kitchen. As they neared the doorway, Bonnie jumped in front of them, blocking the entrance.

"Don't freak out when you see it, okay Ash? Don't freak out. But it's bad. But don't freak out." Bonnie seemed to notice Delia properly. "Hi Ash's mom! I'm Bonnie! And this is Dedenne!" A small cry of greeting was given from the Pokémon in her pouch. Bonnie sweatdropped and gave a worried smile. "Anyway…Uh…Look, we couldn't stop him, he was gonna shock us, so I hope you stocked up on ketchup and—"

"Ketchup? Uh… what do you…" Ash's eyes widened. "PIKACHU, NO!" He ran into the kitchen with the bag still in his arms, barging past Bonnie. Clemont and Serena were exchanging mystified looks with eachother, looking back and forth at the Pikachu on the table and the empty fridge in the closet area by the door. Pikachu, who was currently surrounded by three completely empty bottles of ketchup. He lay with his arms and legs sprawled out in all different directions, a look of pure euphoria on his yellow face as electricity sparked lazily from red cheek pouches.

"C'mon Pikachu, I thought you got over your ketchup problem! You told me that the Pokémart in Unova was the last time!" Ash shouted, setting the hessian bag down on the counter.

Pikachu turned his head towards Ash, panting heavily. (I know I did Ash, and I'm sorry, but…Sweet Mew it was worth it. It was all worth it.) The Pokémon laid his head back down on the table, as if the mere action of talking was tiring him out.

"Well, that's great Pikachu. Not only is all of mom's ketchup gone, but your addiction has got bad again. Do I have to take you to Nurse Joy?" Ash reached out to try and grab the last bottle of ketchup away from Pikachu, who pulled it back, the two engaging in a violent tug of war, while a his confused friends stood in the background. Delia turned to them, introducing herself. "Hello, I'm Ash's mom, Delia." She smiled down at the trio of Kalosians. Serena returned the friendly gesture, holding her hand out to shake Delia's. "Hi Mrs. Ketchum, my name's Serena! I've heard so much about you!" She said, her pearl white teeth catching the small rays of light coming from the window as she grinned.

"Yeah Mrs. Ketchum, Ash is _always _talking about how cool you are!" Bonnie jumped in, grasping Delia's other hand with hers and shaking it. Delia chuckled at Bonnie's lively nature. "Seriously, he always talks about how good your food is, and how funny you are and…" Everyone gasped sharply as Pikachu used his trademark thunderbolt, the room filling with a brilliant yellow light, blasting Ash back into the sink.

"Oh my Mew! Ash, are you okay?" Serena rushed to Ash's side as the fresh electricity sparked and flared across Ash's body. She grabbed his arm, but he stood back up and pushed her away. Delia walked past Serena and picked the ketchup bottle from Pikachu's hand. "He's fine Serena, don't worry yourself." She looked over to Clemont, as if suddenly noticing him for the first time. "Oh, what's your name? I don't think you introduced yourself." She smiled and held out her arm. Clemont looked nervous, but straightened himself out. "My name is Clemont! I'm the Lumiose City gym leader, and Bonnie's older brother. He began to walk over to Delia, but as he extended his hand, he failed to notice the pool of ketchup at his feet. He slipped and fell, flailing his arms in circles as he fell to the floor with a resounding thud. "Oh you poor dear! Are you okay!" She moved to help him up, but Bonnie cut in; "He's fine Mrs. Ketchum, don't worry yourself." She said with a bored look on her face. "Now Ash, can we _pleeeeeaaase _go and see your Pokémon now? You promised!" She grinned. Ash brushed himself off and helped Clemont to his feet. "Sure thing Bon, just gimme' ten minutes to get ready and stuff, 'kay? Misty might wanna come too." He adjusted his red cap, before a voice sounded from the living room.

"Yeah, Misty does wanna come! It's been ages since I saw your Pokémon." She walked into the kitchen; turning to face everyone, looking confused at all the unfamiliar faces in the room. Her hair was in the traditional side ponytail, and she was wearing a sleeveless yellow hoodie, with a pair of baggy jean shorts and a pair of bright red converse. She linked her fingers and began twiddling her thumbs. "Uhh…aren't you gonna introduce me Ash?" Ash seemed to snap out of the sort of daydreaming stupor that he was prone to fall into every now and again. He stepped forward so that he was between everyone. "Bonnie, Clemont, Serena; this is my friend and old traveling partner, Misty! She's also the Cerulean City gym leader, and a damn good one at that." Ash grinned, and Misty blushed a little at how easily Ash complimented her. But she quickly regained her composure, and cocked an eyebrow at Ash. "Just 'friend' Ketchum?" She said sharply. The Kalosians looked quite shocked at her rebuke of Ash's compliment, but Ash just smiled and shook his head. "Nah, not even that. Maybe an acquaintance, at a push." He spoke in words drenched with sarcasm, before pushing past her and walking through the doorway. "I gotta clean up! Meet me outside in five minutes if you're coming to Oak's! They heard him trot up the stairs, and Pikachu hopped off the table to follow, scampering out of the kitchen.

"Hey Misty! Bonnie shouted, grabbing hold of Misty's arm. I'm Bonnie, and Clemont is my older bro! He's a gym leader too, but an electric type one. It's so great to meet you, Ash told us about you as well! In fact, I think—"

"Okay Bon, that's enough, you already talked Mrs. Ketchum's ear off. I'm the infamous Clemont she speaks of, good to meet you Misty." Clemont extended a hand towards her, feeling a lot more confident talking to someone his own age. She took his hand and shook it with a friendly smile. "Good to meet you too Clemont! We should probably talk a little more while we're on our way to Oak's. He'll be down here in a minute, and…You probably know how impatient he is by now, huh?"

"Oh yeah. First thing I found out. Apart from his compulsive desire to throw himself headlong into danger as soon as anyone needs his help." Clemont chuckled. Misty put a palm to her forehead, dragging it down her face. "Somehow, that doesn't surprise me. I could tell you A LOT about his whole 'superman' complex he has going. Has he told you about the Orange Islands yet?"

"Uh…No, I don't think so…" Clemont looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"C'MON YOU GUYS, IF YOU'RE COMIN' THEN HURRY UP!" They heard Ash yell from outside the house, followed by a chorus of unintelligible shouting from Bonnie.

Misty looked back to Clemont with a smirk. "I'll explain along the way. That, and a lot of other things Ash probably forgot to mention for himself." Turning on her heel, she jogged out of the room and towards the front door. Serena came up behind Clemont, an equally confused expression on her face. "What do you think she was talkin' about Clem?"

"I dunno. But, she said she'd tell us, so we'll find out, right? I'm kind of excited now." Clemont grinned, and Serena giggled a little.

"I doubt it's _that _big of a deal. It's probably a story about him catching a Pokémon or something."

* * *

An energetic blue flame flickered and crackled in his hand, his shadow dancing eagerly with it as the aquamarine glow spread across the frosted wall of the cave. He levitated just above the deep underground lake of frozen water, legs crossed, focusing his mind. With a wave of his hand, the icy surface of the lake shattered, and a spout of pure mountain water burst forth. The crystal shine of the liquid enveloped him, encasing him in a tight sphere of the purest water that could be found on his planet. The creatures beneath looked startled at his presence, but he spoke to them, calming them, assuring them he was a friend. They continued to swim in patterns, flitting around in the depths below, their bioluminescent scales glowing striking shades of every colour in the rainbow.

The creature cast his thoughts back to the matter at hand.

From towards the back of the cave, there was a guttural roar that echoed around the gaping maw of the immense caverns, fracturing the previous calm. Following it was the heavy scraping of metal on rock. From the darkness emerged a beast of pure steel, which grunted and growled at the one who hovered above the lake. His lake. _His home_. The metal creature reared to it's full height, it's eyes a piercing ice blue in sharp contrast to it's armored hide of glittering silver metal. It threw it's head back and let loose a ferocious howl of rage, screaming it's name in the darkness, the noise grating and piercing the ears of the other who resided in the cave. It charged towards the one who threatened it's home, opening it's jaws, firing a beam of pure energy at the intruder.

From his position above the lake, he let the bubble of water surrounding him fall away. As the beam of energy closed in on him, he raised an arm, and stopped it in its track, parrying it away with a single swift motion of its hand. Before the iron beast could react, the creature had disappeared. Raising its steel horned head, it sniffed the air, trying to find a trace of the intruder. This proved unnecessary however; as within an instant the creature was in front of him. Stumbling back with surprise, it readied itself to attack, opening its mouth, allowing for the hyper beam to form.

But this was not what the other one wanted. Padding slowly across the icy floor towards the towering mass of steel before him, he raised his hand once more.

"_I am not here to fight you. I do not wish to intrude upon your territory, simply stay for a while before continuing on my way."_

The creature of steel stopped, confused at this. The intruder before him spoke in all languages at once, that of the Pokémon, and that of the humans. The humans. Those who had wronged the steel beast, and those he sought to protect. He readied to attack again.

"_I am not human as you may think. I speak in every language, simply to accommodate all who listen. I assure you that I do not wish to harm you or your family, I am just a traveler who wishes for permission to stay in your home for the night."_

Aggron thought hard at what had just been said. He stood for a while in silence, thinking. Normally he would have continued his attack on the intruder. But this was…Different. Aggron looked at the creature before him, and he was not angry. Simply calm. Aggron nodded gruffly, and slowly turned, his feet thumping against cold stone as he ambled back into the shadows.

The other creature turned back towards the lake, staring hard into the clear blue water, furrowing his brow as if looking for an answer in the depths. Raising himself up from the ground, he floated across the water, towards the cave entrance. The sun was setting over the horizon, the sky speckled with the tiny lights of distant stars that burned silently in the depths of space. He pondered at how long it would be now, before events were set into motion. Events beyond his control. He could only hope that the boy would make the right decisions, and would be able to control the power he would be given. Just out of the corner of his eye, he saw something. A flicker of light in the sky. The deep cobalt blue of the light it emitted was apparent even at this distance. He knew what it was, and he knew that the time was nearly there. He could only hope that Ash and his friends would make the right decisions.

* * *

"Uh…could you repeat that again for me Misty?" Serena spoke in a distant tone to the redhead.

"Ash saved the world and everyone on it from complete annihilation." Misty spoke as if it was the most normal thing anyone could say. Clemont scoffed and adjusted his backpack as the trio walked up the dusty trail to Oak's, slightly behind Ash, Pikachu and Bonnie. "Funny joke, Misty. What actually happened, I really want to know!"

"Well, you're a little out of luck there, 'cause that's what happened." Misty said simply.

"You can't seriously expect us to believe that Misty." The blonde boy said in a mocking tone.

"You don't have to. It's the truth though. He's saved a lot of people and Pokémon from all kinds of death and injury."

"All alone?" Serena questioned, obviously not as skeptic as Clemont.

"You think he could accomplish stuff like that on his own? No way. He may do most of the dangerous jumping headfirst into harms way and sacrificing himself to save the day stuff, but his friends are always there to back him up when he needs them."

"Serena, you don't actually believe this, do you?" Clemont was surprised at her acceptance of everything he believed to be fantasy.

"I dunno Clem…I mean, I watched everything that went down in Lumiose City on the TV. You saw him climb all the way up that tower to save an insane Garchomp. And he managed to do it. I watched him dive off that tower to catch Pikachu. Ordinary people just don't do stuff like that. I'm not totally convinced, I just wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be true."

"I would. He didn't save that Garchomp because he was some sort of 'chosen one'. It's because he just happened to be around when it started rampaging, and happened to be a guy determined enough to follow it up the tower. Doesn't mean he could save the world." Clemont finished and folded his arms, looking proud of his explanation.

"Well…maybe he is some hero of destiny. Maybe he's just a really awesome guy. Maybe it's a mixture of both. You never know." Serena said in a passive tone.

"I do know Serena. What I don't know is where anyone got the idea that he somehow saved the world."

"I didn't get the idea from anywhere. I watched it happen. I dragged him out of the ocean when he was done. Besides, it doesn't matter if you don't believe it now Clemont." Misty said with a chuckle.

"Oh? And why's that?" Clemont stopped walking and turned to face her, a playful smirk on his face.

"Because sooner or later, when you guys meet a legendary Pokémon and Ash has to save the day, you'll have all the proof you need. Now c'mon, I wanna get to Oak's. Believe it or not, I _kinda _wanna see Ash's Pokémon too." She laughed and ran up the path, sprinting past Ash. "Race ya up there Mister Pokémon Master. Last one up's a rotten Eggxecute!" Ash grinned, as Pikachu sensed what was about to happen and jumped onto Bonnie's shoulder. "If you want to race, fine by me." The raven-haired boy said confidently, adjusting the red cap that rested on his shaggy locks. Suddenly, he took off into run, speeding past Misty. "JUST DON'T CRY WHEN YOU HAVE TO EAT MY DUST!" He shouted over his shoulder.

"OH NO YOU DON'T KETCHUM!" Misty began sprinting even faster, pumping her legs (Which were fairly muscular due to her love of swimming) even harder, her beaten red converse smacking hard against the dirt path, kicking up huge clouds of dust. She leveled with him, Ash straining to run even quicker, but finding it quite difficult. Meanwhile, Clemont, Serena and Bonnie were the ones left 'eating dust'. Pikachu hopped off Bonnie's shoulder and began trotting up the hill after them. The cloud of dust set off a fit of hacking and coughing for Clemont. Leaving Bonnie to rub his back, Serena joined Pikachu on his climb.

"Pikachu…Does this normally happen?" Serena inquired to the electric mouse Pokémon.

(Serena, this is way too normal for them. I know you can't understand me, but you'll find out what I mean soon enough. Just wait till they start arguing, that's when the migraines REALLY set in.) The little yellow creature spoke in a tired manner, not bothering to turn around.

"Uhh…Okay then. I have no idea what you're saying, but okay then." Serena turned back to see if Clemont was all right, only to see Bonnie run past her.

"C'mon you guys, lets catch up with Ash and Misty!" She shouted, before continuing up the hill. Back with Ash and Misty, the two were still tied in their race, now shouting at eachother as they neared Oak's lab.

"Oh yeah?! Well if I'm a Slowpoke, you're SlowBRO!"

"Yeah right Misty, I'm faster than you any day!"

"You wish, Ashy-Boy!"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT"

Unfortunately, in the heat of their squabble, they forgot that they were sprinting to Oak's lab. So sprinting to Oak's lab very quickly became speeding up the clean concrete stairs and barreling headlong into the front door of Oak's lab, entirely focused on trying to come up with witty retorts other than paying attention to their surroundings. Ash was the first of the two to notice exactly what was about to happen, but he was still about ten seconds late for reaction time. The pair smacked headfirst into the door and landed in an awkward heap, panting heavily and groaning. Ash clutched his nose, and Misty put both of her hands to her forehead. They looked at eachother for a moment, before Ash jumped up onto his feet, still clutching his nose.

"I totally beat you! In your-Ow-face!" Ash pointed his other hand at the redheaded girl, jumping up and down on the spot.

"No way! I won that and you know it, so you may as well-Ugh-admit it now!" Misty rose to a stand much slower than Ash, leaning herself against the redwood front door of the lab.

"Liar! Did not!" Ash yelled at her fiercely, feeling the argument upon them.

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"DID TOO!"

"DID NOT!"

"DID TOO!"

"DID NO…Uh…Huh…Whu…" Ash stopped suddenly, his face inches away from Misty's, who was still growling in barely contained rage at him. He had halted their shouting contest however, because he caught sight of something.

Her eyes.

Looking at them, he saw something he hadn't ever noticed before. In their sparkling cerulean hue, he saw everything at once, and a multitude of visions flashed through his mind. The soft yet shining deep blue of her eyes kicked something in his mind into overdrive, sending his thoughts sprawling as he desperately tried to form a coherent sentence with a sudden maddening yet paralyzing feeling overtaking his body. He felt calm, lost in the endless blue-green shine. Warm, safe, at home, at peace. Any feeling that could be in any way related to the term happiness overwhelmed him with indescribable force, and all he could do was go red at the cheeks and babble like an idiot. His brain showed him so many things in the space of that single moment that he couldn't take it.

"Uhh…Ash…Are you...Uh…?" Misty spoke in a very concerned, almost motherly tone, even if she didn't quite have the right choice of words to go along with it. Ash was just staring at her. It was very…Strange, the way he was staring. She hadn't seen anything like it…The question of just how close their faces were passed through Misty's mind and she made a noise akin to the strangled yelp of and injured Furret. She felt her cheeks grow hot and a sudden urge to grab on to Ash and hold on to him for dear life washed over her, but she halted it, instead pushing him backwards, where he fell into a nearby bush, stilling mumbling incoherently. She stood on Oak's porch, stiffly watching as Ash picked himself up with an extremely puzzled look on his face, and a blush that went from ear to ear.

"M-Misty…Uh…I…" Ash stumbled for words to explain what happened, but he realized that he couldn't explain, because he was as confused as Misty. He resolved simply to try and tend to his sore nose instead of faltering while looking for an excuse. Before Misty could say anything else, the door to Oak's house opened and in the doorway stood Gary Oak, dressed simply in a purple shirt and blue jeans, with white trainers and a plain lab coat draped over his shoulders. He flipped up the pair of black sunglasses adorning his face, and placed the hand into his coat pocket, the other carrying a clipboard with research notes attached to it. He studied the pair for a moment before a his lips formed into a cheeky grin, showing pearl white teeth to go along with a face that could make a girl's ovaries implode before they could even swoon.

"Ash and Misty? Figures. I thought I heard two dumbasses arguing out here." He turned his attention to Misty, who still had a slight blush on her cheeks. "Wow red, blushing just at the sight of me? I mean I knew was good looking, but…" He winked at her, and leaned on the white doorframe. Misty just smirked at him confidently, not fazed by his playboy personality.

"Sure thing Oak, you keep telling yourself that. I have way more important things to think about, like where the best place to punch you is should you try to get anywhere near me."

Gary chuckled. "Relax red, it was a joke. I know you personally are reserved for Ash." Misty opened her mouth to talk, but Gary cut her off. "Before you say anything, I'll remind you that we've been talking for under a minute, so you may want to save all of your witty retorts till later. Come on in, he's waiting for you inside." The brown haired professor motioned behind him and stepped out of the way. Misty scowled and moved past him into the house. Ash was about to follow, but Gary slid back into the doorframe, blocking his path.

"Sorry Ashy boy. If you wanna get in, you gotta say the password."

Ash looked at him in disdain, his hand falling from his nose to his side and clenching into a fist. "Is this password 'Gary is a massive butt hole'?"

Gary smirked cruelly. "I was thinking more along the lines of 'Ash will never be a Pokémon Master' or 'Gary is so much more handsome, talented and overall a better person than Ash'. Take your pick."

"Sorry Oak, Mom taught me not to lie." The pair glared at eachother intensely, as Pikachu scampered over to Ash and climbed up onto his shoulder, nuzzling into the trainer's cheek. Still staring at Gary, Ash slowly raised his fist. However it was not in a gesture of warning or anger. Instead, he simply held it out in front of him. Gary's mean expression turned into a good-natured grin, and he bumped fists with the raven-haired trainer. Ash laughed and Pikachu just shook his head as Gary moved out of the doorway and disappeared into the house. Ash turned towards the stairway behind him and saw Serena and Bonnie run towards him, both giggling at something unknown.

"Hey guys! Where's Clemont?" Ash asked the pair as they skidded to a halt in front of him and Pikachu, who simply smiled at the pair before settling down its usual position atop Ash's shoulder. Serena gestured back to the stairs, where Clemont could be seen slowly crawling up the stairs, one hand on his mechanical backpack, breathing heavily from exertion. Bonnie turned to him with an irritated expression on his face, folding her arms and tapping her foot at the sight of her brother as he slowly climbed to his feet, panting and sweating. "Oh man…Stairs are...Phew…Stairs are hard…and…Stuff…Hah…"

"Seriously bro. Come on. I've been waitin' _all _day to see Ash's Pokémon, and you aren't helping me get there any faster." She said through gritted teeth. Serena turned to Ash and exchanged a grin with him, before following Gary into the house.

* * *

**I got cookies, it's all good. New chapter…Soon-ish? A week. Yeah, let's say a week. I can do that. **

**Oh dear God I had to change it. I read through and there were so many errors that I didn't even notice before. But I fixed them, and now I will console myself with sleep.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone who reads this story, it's me again, back with another chapter!**

**Before I start though, I should address a few important issues-**

**Issue the first: I do not own Pokémon. Or Dragon Ball Z. I own lots of merchandise. But…not enough. And if I did own either of these two things, then they would both be a lot more sparkly.**

**Issue the second: People who review this, I will be responding at the end of the chapter. Don't skip to the bottom. Absolute no no.**

**Issue the third: I won't be able to stick to the week deadline, because I only actually have a computer for half the week, and the next chapter isn't even started yet. So, I'll try two weeks from now on, and if it works out, I'll stick to it.**

**And I think that's everything! Enjoy chapter three everyone!**

* * *

_Chapter 3: Don't Touch the Space Rock_

**April 22****nd****, 2:03 PM: Oak's Lab**

"So, how're things in the Kalos region going Ash?" Gary questioned as he set down a mug of coffee on the kitchen table next to his research notes. Ash leant against the kitchenette and stared out of the large window facing Oak's ranch.

"Pretty good, got a coupla' badges, caught some new Pokémon, I'll show you all that stuff later in a few minutes, when we go outside." Ash spoke distractedly with a dismissive wave of his gloved hand. Misty eyed him curiously as she slid into a wooden chair opposite Gary. Shaking her head, she turned to the young professor, who was sipping his coffee and reading over notes.

"Gary, I heard that you were a fully fledged professor now. How's that working out for you?" Misty inquired, resting her elbow on the table and putting her chin on the palm of her hand.

"It's goin' pretty good Red. I'm working a lot more now, and cause of my families ties with the league through grandpa, they give me a lot of assignments and stuff to do. But I do those pretty fast, so I have spare time to research other things and work on new projects. The league give me a lot of money to travel around with, and because I only really gotta take care of myself on the road, it means I have a lot spare, so I fund new research with it. At the moment, me and professor Rowan are workin' on a research paper about the effects of certain minerals on the genetics of Pokémon, and if those same minerals could affect human genetics." Gary took another small sip of coffee, turning his eyes back down to the research notes on the clipboard.

"Pretty heavy stuff, Oak. But if you and professor Rowan are working together then how come you're here?" Misty asked, sounding totally focused on their conversation but still keeping an eye on Ash in the background.

"Well, I did half the paper, and I've sent it to him because he's going to visit some family in Kalos and figures that he should be able to talk to professor Sycamore about mega evolutions and the special stones that cause them. All of my league assignments are done, so I decided just to head back to Pallet for a few months to chill out and help grandpa with his work." He finished, before standing up out of his chair, walking past the three Kalosians who were stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. Striding over to Ash, he leant in close to the young trainers ear…and…

"GARY WAS HERE, ASH IS A LOSER!" The chestnut haired professor screamed into Ash's ear, ripping him from his daydreams and back to reality, and he turned and punched Gary in the gut out of sheer shock more than anything else.

"Ash, don't be-oof-like that buddy! You need to-ugh-introduce me to your friends, ya can't just stand there staring out the window all day can ya?" He said, a hand on the spot where Ash had just punched him. The raven haired boy simply shook his head before turning to his Kalosian friends.

"Clemont, Bonnie, Serena; Meet Gary. Gary is a Pokémon professor, but he used to be my rival, back when he was still a trainer. He is the sole winner of the "Kanto's biggest butthole" award, an award which he seems to just keep winning. I wonder why?" He turned to Gary with a look of smugness on his face, before continuing. "Gary, these people are Clemont, Bonnie, and Serena. Clemont is an inventor, and leader of the Lumiose City gym, Bonnie is his little sister, and Serena is a Pokémon trainer who used to live in Pallet but now lives in Kalos. Introductions done. Bonnie, come on, we got Pokémon to see, am I right?" He looked at Bonnie with a wide grin on his face, and she thrust her arms in the air in a gesture of victory. "FINALLY! C'MON, LETS GET MOVIN'!" She yelled, running out of the living room and towards the back door. "Bonnie, wait up! Stop running off on your own!" Clemont shouted, grabbing his pack and slinging it over his shoulders before running off after her, Serena trailing close behind. Pikachu, who was currently napping on the kitchen table, cracked an eye open at the commotion. He yawned, stretched his legs, and hopped onto Ash's shoulder. Ash turned to Misty, who was sat at the table, drawing circles with her finger on the wood.

"You…Uh…You comin'?" She seemed surprised, as if he had snapped her out of deep thought. Nodding, she stood, brushing herself down and following him out of the back door.

" Me and Grandpa should be down in a couple minutes, we're just finishing some stuff off!" Gary called after them before walking to the stairs. Ash walked into the huge open space of the ranch to see the trio of Kalosians in puzzlement as to what exactly was going on.

"Ash…I thought you said you had loads of Pokémon!" Bonnie shouted in distress. Ash paused in the middle of removing his jacket, revealing his white undershirt.

"Oh…Yeah, I do." He seemed simply confused as to why she would say that, before tossing his jacket to the side along with his bag, placing his hat on Pikachu's head.

"Well…If you have lots of Pokémon…Where are they?" Serena said, gesturing to the empty field in front of them that simply ended in a dark forest at the back.

Ash suddenly understood their confusion, and he simply grinned. "You'll see. BULBASAUR, WHERE ARE YA BUDDY?" Ash cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted across the field. There was a raspy voiced cry from around the side of Oak's house, and Bulbasaur came running round the corner. Ash knelt down to catch him in a small hug of friendship.

"Hey Bulbasaur! How ya' doin'?" As said to the small, ivy green Pokémon in front of him.

(Things have been pretty cool Ash, just hanging around at the ranch like usual. What about you?) Bulbasaur said in Pokéspeak, language that only Ash seemed to be able to understand when it came to his Pokémon.

"Cool. I've been doin' the same old stuff, travelin', getting' badges, things like that. By the way, these guys behind me are my friends from Kalos! Bulbasaur, meet Clemont, Bonnie and Serena. Clemont, Bonnie and Serena, meet Bulbasaur.

"Hey Bulbasaur!"

"Hi there!"

"Woah! A Bulbasaur!"

(Hey everyone!)

"And of course, you've already met Misty and Pikachu." Ash gestured to the redhead behind him, who smiled at the Pokémon as Pikachu leapt from Ash's shoulder.

"Hey there Bulbasaur, long time no see, huh? Misty smiled, waving to the ivy green creature at her feet. The Pokémon nodded at the redhead, smiling. He turned back to Ash, who was fiddling with something in his pocket.

(I presume you want me to get the others?) He said to the raven-haired trainer. Ash turned, remembering where he was. "Gimme a sec, I'll tell ya when." Bulbasaur nodded, and walked a few meters away from everyone, settling himself in the grass in wait. Ash finished looking in his pocket, eventually pulling out a pack of chewing gum and putting a piece in his mouth. He stood up and turned around to where Bulbasaur was sat.

"Ash…I know Bulbasaur is your Pokémon, but like I said, YOU said you had loads more than just the one. Where are they all?" Bonnie said, still confused along with Clemont and Serena. Ash smirked. "Like I said, you'll see. Bulbasaur, you ready?"

(Yep!)

"Okay then Bulbasaur, Solarbeam, let's go!"

The green bulb on Bulbasaur's back started to glow, drawing in the energy of the intense sun. It shined with all the brilliance of the burning star, before suddenly erupting into the sky in dazzling display of light patterns in all different colours, making the daylight seem dim in comparison. Bonnie, Clemont and Serena all watched, completely awestruck at the power being displayed before them. Ash, Misty and Pikachu all shared a giggle at the dumbfounded expressions on their friends faces. The light of the Solarbeam eventually faded, and Bonnie turned back to Ash once more with an irritated expression on her face.

"Ash, that was really cool and stuff, but I'm still waiting to see you're Pokem—"

A rumble like rolling thunder in the distance cut off Bonnie. She turned along with the other two Kalosians, and gulped as the shaking continued to worsen.

"Uh…Ash…Is that normal? What is that?" Serena spoke in a slightly shaky tone, edging a little towards the young trainer. Ash looked at her and gave a grin, as if he were playing some sort of dastardly joke, which Misty, Pikachu and Bulbasaur seemed to be in on. The rumbling got louder and louder, causing the earth to shake even more and the Kalosians to grow more and more uncomfortable. Near the entrance to the forest, a Pokémon dashed out from between the trees. Followed by another. And another. The herd of Tauros charged towards the group, braying and shouting, carrying other Pokémon atop their backs as some soared in the sky above and others chose simply to run along side the mass of bull-like creatures that causing the earth to shake beneath their feet as their three tails whipped in the wind along with their grizzled manes of Ochre-brown fur. Bonnie yelped and clung to Clemont's arm as the multitude of Pokémon drew closer. Serena cried out in fear and grabbed onto Ash's arm, a move that by no means impressed the Gym Leader stood at his side, who stopped grinning very suddenly. Almost as suddenly as Misty's mood change, the charging Pokémon halted their movement, coming to a halt just in front of Ash and his friends, kicking up and enormous cloud of dust, which threw Bonnie and Clemont into a coughing fit. The dust cleared, revealing Ash's Pokémon properly to the Kalosians for the first time. They opened their eyes, confused as to why the rumbling had suddenly stopped.

"Hey again everyone! How you all doin'?" Ash shouted to his Pokémon, who occupied the lush green grass of the sprawling field, clustering together in a large group in front of Ash. Gliscor, Swellow, Unfeazant, Noctowl and Heracross settled onto the ground (from their previous position in the air) next to Infernape, Sceptile, Staraptor, Krookodile and Charizard, who were all stood just to the right side of the huge herd of Tauros. Off to the left were Quilava, Buizel. Boldore, Donophan and Corpish. Just behind them were Bayleef, Kingler, Torkoal, Glalie and Torterra. Pignite, Palpitoad, Leavanny and Oshawott lazed just in front of the thirty Tauros. Gible, Snivy and Totodile all sat on the backs of one of the Tauros's, and Snivy was giggling at the little hopping dance that Totodile was assuming as Gible tried to think really hard about not biting the Tauros he was sat on. And finally, at the back, stood the towering figure of Snorlax, with Scraggy riding on his shoulder. They all shouted their respected cries, and while Ash couldn't quite understand all of them properly, he could tell that it was mostly positive.

"That's great! You guys, I'm back in Pallet for a little while, and I've bought a few friends back with me, who were all really excited to meet ya. Let me introduce ya to Clemont, Bonnie, and Serena, who are all people that live in the Kalos region, where I'm traveling at the moment." The Pokémon all gave a collective cry of greeting towards the newcomers. "Also, while I'm at it, let me introduce ya to my other new friends!" Ash shouted, drawing out two Pokéballs from his belt and hurling them into the air. From one Pokéball emerged a Froakie, and from the other emerged a Fletchling. Froakie croaked out his hello, as Fletchling flew up into the air and tweeted. The other Pokémon greeted them warmly, prompting Froakie and Fletchling to walk forward and introduce themselves. As the Pokémon chattered away with eachother, a voice from behind Ash startled him.

"Well Ash, they're certainly very friendly aren't they? But I guess I shouldn't really expect anything else considering they are _your_ Pokémon." Professor Oak stood behind them, sporting his usual maroon polo shirt, pressed beige trousers and a pair of burgundy loafers, along with the regular white lab coat and clipboard researcher attire. Ash jumped slightly, but then a delighted smile returned to his face.

"Professor Oak! Great to see ya!" Ash held out his hand and the professor shook it, smiling gracefully.

"Good to see you too Ash. And Pikachu! You're looking as fighting fit as ever."

(Thanks professor!)

Oak paused in his greeting to look over Ash's shoulder, seeing the group of people behind him. He was puzzled at the sight of the familiar red-headed gym leader.

"Why Misty! What a surprise to see you here!" Oak smiled once more at her, and she returned a sly grin in Ash's direction.

"Yeah, Ash was just as surprised as you are." She giggled, remembering the events that had transpired when Ash had found her.

"Shut up pajama thief." Ash returned the grin as Misty crimson and looked to the floor.

While the Kalosians simply stood confused for the umpteenth time that day, Oak knew all about the pairs antics, and just how strange they could be. He gave a hearty chuckle and moved past the grinning Ash and embarrassed Misty to speak to his other friends.

"So, I presume that you are Ash's friends from Kalos that he was telling me about, am I right?"

Clemont stepped forward to speak for the group. "Yes professor. I'm Clemont, that's my younger sister Bonnie, and that's Serena. It's a pleasure to meet you sir!" Clemont introduced everyone and held out his hand in a warm gesture, which Oak shook and smiled back again as Ash started laughing in the background.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too. Shall we talk inside everyone? Tracey has just got some groceries, and him and Gary are making us some food." Oak gestured towards the open back door of his house, to where the distinct smell of bacon and egg sandwiches wafted across the field towards Ash's nostrils. He stopped dead in his tracks, and slowly turned towards the house, everyone watching him intently. A low rumble emitted from his stomach, and he clutched at it, looking desperately towards the open door. He looked like he was about to speak, but Oak hushed him with a single hand.

"Ten minutes."

Ash's face dropped visibly, with a look of utmost despair on his face. His head bowed, and he fell to his knees.

"BUT ITS ALWAYS TEN MINUTES!" He shouted towards the sky, raising his arms in what seemed a futile gesture to grasp at something in the air. He wallowed in his sadness before Misty said something that seemed to perk him up a bit.

"Hey, if you're too upset to eat your food then I guess I'll have to…" She teased, doing a mocking skip towards the open back door of the Oak residence. Ash hastily jumped to his feet, and held an arm out for Pikachu to hop on, before racing after Misty, speeding past her and disappearing through the doorway.

"Ash, four years on the road most definitely have not changed your appetite." Professor Oak said aloud, and the rest of the group gave a grinning nod. As they made their way towards the door, Clemont stopped momentarily. He had been looking back towards the trees, when he thought he saw something glint in the foliage. He considered going over to it for a moment, and even started to walk towards it. But then the scent of bacon invaded his nostrils, and every cognitive thought in his head reverted back to 'Yum, tasty food time'. He turned his back on the tiny glinting in the distance and jogged away. And the camera that the light reflected from zoomed in on the blonde inventor as he reached the back door. The blade atop it's spherical body slowly began to rotate, allowing it to hover into the air.

In his later years, Clemont would recall this tiniest of events with unbelievable clarity. And after a moment of intensely frustrating realization, he would simply give up on doing anything for the rest of that day.

Luckily, it would be a Saturday.

* * *

**3:48 PM: Above Pallet Town Forest**

"Look, all I'm saying is that we could stand to branch out a little more, give ourselves some more options other than just the same old schemes. We don't have to stop doing what we're doing, just look into some other things every once in a while." James folded his arms and leaned against the edge of the wooden basket beneath their Meowth head balloon. Jessie gave a frustrated grunt and turned away from him, her cherry red hair flicking around behind her, her lips forming a moody pout.

"Well to me, it sounds like you just don't want to be a part of the team anymore." She spoke in a haughty tone, turning her nose up at her teal haired partner. Meowth cocked an eyebrow at the two from behind the book he was reading, before turning his eye back to the page and flicking it over.

"Oh come on now Jessie, you're just being stubborn. We need money, right? So, how about we find something that will allow us to _get _money. Maybe that's step one to solving our problem." James said in an irritated voice. Before Jessie could retort, Meowth stood up and placed his book down on the floor of the basket.

"I think what Jimmy-Boy is tryin' ta' say is dat we gotta get money to make money. We can keep bein' master criminals, but we gotta do somethin' on the side ta rake in the dough that we need ta keep on runnin' dis operation. So, we can keep on thievin', but we could also give balloon rides an' stuff to make some on the side. Ya understand?" Meowth finished, climbing up onto the edge of the balloon basket and grabbing hold of one of the ropes. Jessie looked like she was about to argue, but then stopped. She looked thoughtful for a moment, putting a hand to her chin. Finally, she gave a hefty sigh.

"I guess…that's not _too _bad of an idea… I mean it could work. I guess. But you two have to deal with it, it wasn't _my _idea, got it?" James nodded eagerly, and high fived Meowth.

"Anyway, we've got twerps to track. Where were they headed again? It was Pallet Town, right?" Jessie leaned over the edge slightly to survey the area.

"Where else are dey gonna be Jess?"

"Good point. Well, we're over Pallet forest now, so let's just kick back for a little wh—"

Jessie was cut off as a huge gust of wind knocked the balloon backwards, sending the trio into a sprawling heap. As James picked himself up, he looked around desperately to see where it had come from.

"What was that? That was way too strong to be a normal gust of wind, so it had to be a Pokémon's attack." Jessie surmised, rubbing her head, which she had bumped on the way down. Meowth hopped back onto the side of the balloon, and pointed over to the left side of the balloon.

"Lookit dat you guys! It's a Fearow!" Meowth yelled as the big beak Pokémon circled in the air with a menacing look in it's eye.

"That's gotta be what gusted us!" We'll get you, you winged windbag!" Jessie shouted at the Pokémon, shaking her fist in the air. Meanwhile, James stood off to the side, observing something on the opposite side of the balloon.

"Uh…Guys? We have another problem…I don't think it was the Fearow…" James pointed off into the forest at another Pokémon hovering just above the treetops. Meowth turned around and squinted, trying to make out the figure of the bird Pokémon.

"Is…Is dat a Pidgeot?" Meowth put a hand his forehead, shielding his eyes from the sunlight in order to see well.

"Yeah, it's a Pidgeot alright. Something about it seems sort of familiar though…" James cupped his chin, leaning back against the side of the basket.

"Never mind familiarities! We need to get out of here, because these two look like they're about to tussle, and I don't want to be here when it happens!" Jessie shouted, as the two Pokémon cawed viciously at eachother, from their points either side of the balloon.

"I second dat motion! Jimmy, let's get movin'!" Meowth said frantically, as James put his hand on the pulley chain beneath the balloon's gas tanks. As they began to pick up in speed, the Pidgeot suddenly disappeared from view.

"Uh…Guys…The Pidgeot is—" Before Jessie could finish her sentence, it reappeared mere inches from the Fearow, slamming it's wing into the other Pokémon's body with overwhelming speed and power. The Pokémon was knocked back quite substantially, and tried to conceal it's apparent injury. The Fearow swept it's wings in front of it, throwing a swift attack towards the Pidgeot, who crossed it's wings across it's face and endured the hit with ease. The Pidgeot disappeared once more, and the Fearow looked around desperately for it's opponent, cawing and crowing in a shrill tone. Then, like it had been shot out of a cannon, the Pidgeot reappeared once more behind the Fearow. Team Rocket gasped as the Pokémon was enveloped in a striking blue flame as it moved towards the unaware Fearow at speeds barely visible to the human eye.

"_Piii…dgeot!"_ The Pokémon screeched it's name as it crashed into the Fearow, who had almost no time at all to turn around before it was hit unbelievably hard in the chest, sending it rocketing into the canopy below, defeated. The Pidgeot cawed in victory…But stopped as it noticed a familiar Meowth Balloon in the skies.

"I think that Pidgeot's seen us! Get a move on, WE NEED TO GO FASTER!" Jessie shrieked as the Pidgeot turned to face them fully. Wobbuffett chose this moment to jump out of his Pokéball, saluting at the team. Jessie turned to him, her face turning a virulent shade of crimson, almost matching her hair.

"NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR YOU TO BE HERE, IDIOT! GET BACK IN YOUR BALL!" Jessie moved to grab the Pokéball from her belt, but stopped when she noticed that the Pidgeot was now closing in on them.

Fast.

Very fast.

Meowth looked over to see the Pokémon start to spin in the air, it's orange beak glowing pure white as it span faster and faster towards the balloon.

"JAMES, MOVE IT MOVE IT MOVE IT!"

"IT'S A BALLOON, IT CAN'T GO ANY FASTER!"

The Pidgeot tore through the balloon at unreal speed, leaving a gaping hole in the balloon that was now spiraling out of control in the air. Team Rocket were hurled from the basket and into the sky's above.

"I told you we should invest in motorbikes. We wouldn't have this problem then would we?" James folded his arms across his chest with a smug look on his face.

"Just for that James, you and Meowth can find the balloon when we land." Jessie somehow managed to look even more smug than James.

"Mewdammit!" James shouted as Meowth hit him hard upside the head.

"LOOKS LIKE TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF AGAAAAIIIIN!"

"WOBBUFFEEEET!"

And as Team Rocket soared away, the Pidgeot watched them go, with a victorious expression on his face.

(Payback. Jerk wads.) He said quietly to himself in Pokéspeak, before turning and heading off back down to the forest below.

* * *

**7:04 PM: Oak's Lab**

Ash settled into the plush red sofa on the second floor of the Oak's lab, next to Gary and Clemont, the latter of which was fiddling with electronics on the coffee table. Ash picked up his lemonade from the table and started sipping at it, staring across the room at Professor Oak and Tracy, who were sat at a computer working on research files. Pikachu lay on the arm of the sofa, sleeping peacefully.

"Hey Gary, what's are Tracey and the Professor doin'?" Ash turned to Gary with the lemonade still in hand, talking across Clemont, who was in a world of his own as he messed with remote casing from his bag.

"Oh, just taking care of odd research and stuff. Nothing too fancy, mainly just the data they gather from observing your Pokémon."

"My Pokémon?" Ash spoke in a puzzled tone.

"Yeah, didn't you know? Half the research that has come from grandpa in the past three or so years has been data from your Pokémon that live at the ranch. Grandpa says that they're raised and trained so well that they provide perfect specimens for field work." Ash nodded slightly, understanding basically what Gary had said. Basically. A little bit.

"Being the high class researcher I am, I agree with him…Too an extent. Obviously, my Pokémon are better trained than yours Ashy-Boy." Gary winked at the trainer, who gave a smirk in return.

"Well, if you're so convinced of that, then why don't we have a little one on one?" Ash said, grabbing his Pokéball belt that was draped across the arm of the chair. Gary grinned, and stood up from his seat on the sofa.

"Sure, why not? But you'll need to be prepared to lose, because you wouldn't wanna start cryin' in front of your girlfriend would you?" Gary spoke in a mocking tone. Ash jumped to his feet and raised a fist. "She's not my gir—"

"Not my girlfriend, I know, you two deny it often enough, If we're doin' this, we're doin it now, get ready." Gary turned and heading down the stairs, tossing his lab coat on a wall peg on the way down. Ash scowled, and grabbed his belt, trudging down the wooden staircase after him, leaving Clemont to work on his remote, and Tracey and Professor Oak to chatter away about their research. He stepped into the living room, where Misty, Bonnie and Serena all sat on the sofa, all intently watching an episode of Dragon Ball Z.

"Hey, is that Goku and Frieza? Has he turned Super Saiyan yet?" Ash leaned across the sofa above the girls, who didn't turn around to speak to him.

"No, but that's close now. What are you and Gary doing? I saw him just head out back." Misty said as Goku landed a powerful kick to Frieza's head on the screen.

"We're gonna have a battle, shouldn't be too long. See ya in a bit!" Ash started towards the door, but Misty got up and grabbed her hoodie from the floor.

"Hold up Ketchum, I'm coming too."

"Aren't you watching DBZ?"

"Yeah, but we're recording it, so I'll watch it later. Plus, I know you'll probably wanna watch it with me, you got me into it in the first place."

"You know me too well." Ash chuckled, and Misty giggled slightly along with him. She turned to look behind her at the two girls who were still sat on the sofa.

"Hey, Serena, Bonnie, you comin'?"

"Yeah sure thing, just give us a few minutes." Serena said, still mesmerized with watching Goku charge the Spirit Bomb on the TV.

As they left the house, they spotted Gary in the field, chatting away to his Nidoking. Nidoking roared and slammed it's massive tail into the dirt as Ash approached and Misty set herself up on the grass near the two. Gary turned to face Ash, another smirk adorning his features.

"So Ash, prepared to lose?"

"Only if you are Gary. INFERNAPE, C'MON OVER HERE!" Ash shouted towards the forested area, and as quick as a flash, the fire ape was on his way towards Ash. In under a minute, he managed to run the distance of the field to Ash, who stood waiting patiently. Ash high-fived the Pokémon as it arrived, and then spoke in a commanding but friendly tone to Infernape.

"Hey Infernape, Gary here thinks that him and Nidoking are a better team than you and me. You wanna show him how wrong he is?"

(You bet Ash, let's do this!)

"Awesome. So, Gary, are you ready?"

"Whenever you are Ketchum!" Gary shouted from across the field. Ash was about to call for the match to start, when Clemont tumbled out of the doorway, running into the middle of the battlefield.

"Wait a sec guys, I'll be the referee! Okay…Ahem…This will be a one on one battle between Ash and Gary! On the count of three, both trainers will choose their first move. Trainers, ready!" Ash and Gary took a moment to ready their strategies. Clemont began the countdown.

"Three…Two…One!" Clemont swiped his arm through the air, giving the signal to begin.

"Nidoking, let's start off strong! Horn Drill!" The purple beast began to charge towards Ash's Infernape, shaking the earth with each pound of it's mighty tread.

"Infernape, flip over Nidoking and use mach punch!" Infernape jumped as the other Pokémon was about to hit him and grabbed hold of his shoulder, using it to vault over him, landing squarely on his tail and delivering an expert blow to the Pokémon's back, who gave a gruff cry of pain.

"Nidoking, turn with brick break!" Nidoking's right hand began to glow, and it swung around to meet Infernape directly in the face.

"Duck and launch yourself away!" Ash shouted the command towards Infernape, who complied swiftly, dodging under the arm and bracing both feet against Nidoking's now prone face, then kicking off into a mid-air flip before dropping gracefully to his feet on the other side of the battlefield.

"Now Infernape! Use—What?" Ash stopped as he watched Infernape fall to his knees on the other side of the battlefield, grimacing in pain. He was confused, until he spotted the cause of Infernape's pain. One of Nidoking's tiny poison spines was lodged firmly in his upper left arm, and the area around it glowed purple. Gary chuckled, waggling his finger at Ash from his side of the battlefield.

"Ashy-Boy, I bet you forgot all about poison point, huh?" Ash clenched his teeth, realizing his mistake in sending Infernape out to use direct combat against Nidoking.

"Poison point huh? What does that ability do again…Oh, the Pokémon has a chance to poison on contact, right? Serena said as she and Bonnie sat down next to Misty by the wall of the house, apparently having finished watching DBZ.

"Yup. Ash has gone up against Nidoking before; I'm surprised he didn't rememeber it. Oh well, this match isn't exactly over because of some poison." Misty spoke, patting the spot next to her, ushering the girls to sit down. Meanwhile, back on the battlefield…

"Nidoking, take the opportunity, use earthquake!" Nidoking roared and smashed his gargantuan paw into the ground, cracking the earth and sending a shockwave towards Infernape, sending the ground beneath him up in huge spikes and knocking Infernape into the air.

"Woah, super effective! Ash is gonna have to go all out to recover from a hit like that." Bonnie shouted, commentating on the match. Misty and Serena both smiled at the sight of the young girl who was already so into Pokémon.

"Infernape, regain control! Balance out and use flame wheel straight towards Nidoking!" Infernape, growled, and began to spin rapidly in mid air, red-hot fire covering every inch of his fur as he barreled towards his opponent.

"Another rookie mistake Ash! Nidoking, catch, then use horn drill!" Nidoking raised his arms and braced for the impact, catching the burning mass spinning towards him with ease.

Ash smirked at the cocky trainer on the other side of the field. "Rookie mistake? That's what you think Gary! Infernape, turn the flame wheel into a fire punch!" Infernape grinned, and stopped the continuous spin, the momentum fueling his burning fist as it struck Nidoking square in the jaw, pummeling the Pokémon into the ground. As Infernape jumped away, it was caught off guard by the poison once again, giving Nidoking time to recover from the staggering blow.

"Nidoking, hang in there! Use Ice Beam!" Nidoking roared, and released a beam of sub-zero energy, which hit the weakened Infernape and froze him into a solid block of ice. Gary grinned, and allowed himself a small moment of victory. "Now, follow it up with a mega punch!" Nidoking closed in on the frozen Infernape, delivering a crushing blow to the Pokémon's chest. The ice was shattered, and Infernape staggered back from the sheer power of the punch. Ash had to think fast. The only way he could win this now was by using Infernape's combat strength to his advantage, instead of speed attacks.

"Infernape, Flare Blitz! Full power!" Infernape howled into the skies as white-hot flame formed in a sphere brighter than the sun itself around him, and he rushed forward in a blur of blinding light, tearing up the ground beneath him. Gary had no time to react as Infernape slammed his whole body into Nidoking, pushing him back across the field.

"Nidoking is a ground type Ash! It's resistant to fire attacks you idiot!" Misty shouted from her position on the sidelines. Serena and Bonnie looked slightly shocked at the red head's choice of words, and Ash simply remained silent and in wait for the next move to be made.

"_Ash is getting desperate, I should be able to pull this off with another Earthquake._" Gary grinned to himself. This match was as good as his.

"Nidoking, Earthquake, finish this!" Nidoking roared in triumph and smashed it's fist into the ground. Ash just smiled in return. "Infernape, jump!" The ape regained focus and leapt into the air.

"Nidoking is preoccupied! Land, and use Close Combat!" Infernape dropped to the ground as Nidoking reared up quickly. Unfortunately, it wasn't quick enough. Before Nidoking could even react Infernape was hammering him with kicks and punches at unreal speed, causing massive damage to the purple titan. Nidoking desperately tried to land hits on his opponent, but it proved futile. For each time Nidoking would swing a fist out in blind fury Infernape would simply drop beneath or leap over the poorly aimed shot, with the poise and grace of a master martial artist. While Infernape was surely doing huge damage, it still wasn't enough, and Ash saw this. He searched desperately for a strategy, something that could bring Nidoking to it's knees. Ash knew that if Infernape wasn't able to take Nidoking down with close combat, then it would be over. Infernape was already damaged from the successful Earthquake attacks, along with the poisoning and recoil from his own Flare Blitz. And once Close Combat was finished, Infernape's guard would be down, and Nidoking would be free to move in for the final attack.

Then it hit him.

"Infernape! Combine Close Combat with Fire Punch, finish Nidoking off!" Infernape looked confused at such a command, but quickly complied. The volley of punches Infernape was throwing were suddenly awash with flames, raining down a hellfire of devastating blows on Nidoking, who howled in pain and fury. Infernape sensed that enough was enough, and halted his attack. Nidoking stood, smouldering slightly from the repeated hits of intense heat that had been thrown against him.

All was still. All watchers of the battle held their breath, the tension thick in the air as they waited for the outcome. Gary and Ash both stood, teeth and fists clenched, watching the two fighters in the field of battle.

Both Pokémon panted heavily, staring eachother down as they struggled to stand. And finally, with a resounding thud, Nidoking fell to his knees. As he wobbled and began to lose consciousness, Infernape moved forward and caught him, stopping his fall. He brought the Pokémon to his feet, and allowed him to take a few shaky steps forward towards Gary. "Nidoking is unable to battle! The win goes to Ash!" Clemont signaled the end of the match Gary took out Nidoking's Pokéball and clicked the middle, enlarging it.

"Nidoking, return!" Nidoking was returned to the ball, and Gary looked at the ball for a moment. "Good job out there Nidoking, you did great buddy." He muttered appreciatively under his breath, before placing the ball back into his trainer belt. Infernape stomped his foot and howled a cry of victory, as Ash ran up to meet him.

"You were awesome Infernape! You haven't lost your touch, have ya?" Ash exclaimed, heartily congratulating the Pokémon, who could only sheepishly rub the back of his neck. He gave a small wave to everyone, before turning around and heading back to the forest. Gary walked over to Ash as he watched the fire ape disappear into the tree line.

"That Infernape sure packs a punch." Gary acknowledged, placing a his hands in his pockets and kicking at the dirt. Ash turned and held his hand out for Gary to shake it, as a display of courtesy. Gary shook Ash's hand, and Ash grinned his lopsided grin once more.

"You better believe it. Although I gotta say, Nidoking is pretty strong too. I didn't think that we'd be able to beat ya for a moment..." Ash admitted, and the researcher laughed.

"Yeah, ya got lucky this time Ashy-Boy. But next time, I will reduce you to tears!" Gary joked as he made for the door.

"Don't count on it Oak!" He shouted after him. He saw Serena and Bonnie follow Gary into the house, and began to move towards the door himself, before Misty stopped him.

"Hey Ash, can we stay out here for a bit? I want to…uh…talk to you…about some stuff." Misty requested, looking quite unsure of what she was saying. Ash gave her a slightly puzzled look, before shaking it off.

"Sure we can talk Mist. Come with me, I know a good spot." Now it was Misty's turn to look confused, as Ash lead her around the side of the building, towards a ladder that ended at the rooftop. He began to climb it, and once he was at the top, he motioned for Misty to follow. She took hold of the cold steel ladder fitted to the side of the building and moved up it. She gasped at the sight she saw on the roof. Sitting on the roof in front of her was a beautiful roof garden, peppered with flowers and berry bushes of all shapes, sizes and in a wondrous array of colours, from striking vermillion to midnight blue to the brightest of snow-white petals. Soft pink blossom scattered in the air, fluttering in the light spring breeze as they cascaded from the blooming trees bordering the garden. The grass was kept well, framing the stone path to the middle, where Ash sat on one of two deck chairs, staring at the sun as it set, beginning to drop below horizon in the onset of night.

"C'mon Mist, over here." Misty nodded, and moved past the beauty of the garden to the centre of the roof, taking a seat on the deck chair next to Ash. He smiled at her, and looked back up to the sky. They shared a comfortable silence for a few minutes, content in the serenity of the garden.

"Sure is pretty tonight, huh?" Ash said, breaking the silence and pointing towards the sun. Misty lay back on the deck chair and watched it as it began to set over the sea, the fiery behemoth in the sky casting it's reflection across the calm Kanto ocean, seeming to set the air alight with it's very presence as the blue of day turned to the fiery crimson of twilight. Misty sighed contentedly, at the natural beauty of the Kanto region, feeling lucky to be able to experience it. Ash tapped her lightly on the shoulder, and she turned her head towards him, snapping out of her trance.

"What did you wanna talk about Mist?" Ash inquired, and Misty suddenly realized that she had been so totally lost in the moment that she had forgotten what she was going to ask. "Uh…I don't remember…" She mumbled, scratching her head.

"What's wrong? Is your memory a little…_Misty?"_ Misty groaned at the terrible pun as Ash cracked up at his own joke, giggling with glee at his little wisecrack.

"Seriously? No. Stop now." Misty slapped a hand to her forehead and sighed.

"Well…if you can't remember what you were gonna ask me, why don't we just talk?" Ash suggested. Misty turned to face him fully, both of them still lying down on the deck chairs.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Well, for starters…" Ash cupped his chin for a moment, turning away from Misty and humming thoughtfully, before snapping his fingers and turning back.

"For starters, why were you in my bed when I got back?" Ash smirked, and Misty went slightly red, before shaking it off.

"I came from Cerulean in the rain, and your mom insisted I stay the night, obviously forgetting all about me in the morning because she hadn't warned you or anything."

"Uh huh…and exactly what happened to make you come from Cerulean in the rain?"

"Well…" Misty paused, hesitant as to whether she should tell Ash or not, but remembered that she would have to tell him sooner or later. "I had a fight with my sisters." She finished, exhaling loudly. Ash's attention seemed to perk slightly at this. And continued to do so as Misty filled him in on the previous events at the Cerulean Gym.

"…And then you got home and found me in your bed because I didn't wake up early like normal." Misty ended her story, and Ash whistled at the image of the fight they must've had.

"So what are you gonna do? I don't imagine you can go back for a little while after your…spectacular exit." Ash grinned, but Misty didn't return the gesture.

"You think I don't know that, genius?" She snapped, turning onto her side and facing away from Ash. Normally he would have started an argument, but this time…He sensed that he had hit a nerve, and he moved a hand to her shoulder, squeezing it in an effort to offer some comfort. She flinched slightly at his touch, but said nothing.

"Hey, look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you Mist. I just wanted you to maybe relax a little. Hey, I might be able to make it up to you. I could help you think about what you're gonna do next, right?" Misty rolled back over and faced Ash with an apologetic smile.

"I know you were just tryin' to make me feel a little better, I'm sorry for jumping at you like that. I'm just stressed. But you don't need to worry, your mom helped me get it all figured…" Then something clicked in Misty's mind and she remembered what she was going to ask.

"I remember now!" Misty shouted with glee.

"Remember…Remember what?" Ash quizzed in puzzlement.

"What I was going to ask you before, idiot!"

"Oh right…Go on then."

'Well…I was going to ask you if I could—" Misty was cut off as a dull boom sounded in the distance. Ash and Misty's heads snapped towards the direction of the noise, and their jaws almost hit the floor when they saw what had caused the noise.

In the distance, and rapidly gaining ground on them, was a meteorite. It screamed through the almost-night sky towards the forest, a trail of smoke and fire cutting the air behind it. The meteor burned an intense cobalt blue, the glare rivaling the intensity of the mid-day sun. "Oh my…Oh…DUCK!" Ash grabbed Misty's arm and dropped to the floor, dragging her along with him. They held onto eachother as if for dear life,

The meteor touched down in the forest, with a single sound so catastrophically loud that the sonic boom effect caused the windows of Oak's lab to shatter into tiny fragments. A shockwave rippled across Pallet Town, kicking up dust and debris. The tranquility of the sleepy coastal town was shattered, as a blue glow emanated from the forest where the meteor had struck. The silence of the night returned, only this time the horrible notion of creeping dread settled in the air. A shaken Ash and Misty slowly came to the realization that the worst was over, and cautiously rose to their feet. Ash watched the glow for a moment, leaning over the edge, muscles tensed in wait for something to happen.

"What the hell was that?!" Misty exclaimed from behind him, and he moved towards the deck chairs, grabbing his jacket and cap from the floor.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out. You comin'?" Ash said as he readied himself to leave.

"You bet your ass, Ketchum."

"Okay then, let's go. CHARIZARD, I NEED YOU!" Ash shouted into the air, and a powerful roar sounded in the sky as the fire dragon rose into the air from the ranch. He hovered next to the roof, turning to allow Ash and Misty to climb on. Ash saw Gary, Pikachu, Tracy and Serena leave the house.

"Hey Ash, Misty, did you guys see that?!" Serena yelled up to the pair who was riding on Charizard.

"Yeah, we're gonna check it out!"

"We are too, we'll meet you there!" Gary motioned for everyone to follow him, as Charizard took off towards the light in the distance.

"So…Space rocks?" Ash turned to Misty with a forced smile on his face.

"Apparently so. Nothing good ever came of space rocks, huh?" Misty sighed.

Ash simply shook his head and concentrated on the blue light ahead.

Something about it smacked him as odd. Not including the fact that a giant meteor had just landed in Pallet town forest, and they were all somehow still alive. No, it was something about the light. It wasn't…It didn't look right. It was almost like sunlight, he could feel the warmth even though they were only relatively close, and it wasn't focused or purposeful like an artificial like; It simply lit up the forest, more like firelight than anything else. But the glow was pale and icy in comparison to the heat it gave off. It was mesmerizing…Ash suddenly caught himself reaching out as if in an effort to touch it, and hurriedly withdrew his hand. Misty eyed him curiously, but ignored it nonetheless.

Charizard landed near the (surprisingly enough, fairly small) crater that the meteor had caused. Ash immediately noticed several things wrong with the situation. Number one, all of the trees around the crater were still standing up as if nothing had happened.

Number two; the rock, about three times the size of Ash's own head, was floating five feet off the ground.

"Well…that's a space rock alright…" Misty put her hands to her hips and leaned forward slightly, pursing her lips at the sight in front of her.

"Uh…Huh…" Ash was almost paralyzed by the sapphire glimmer that seemed to emanate from within the rock itself. The cracks in the surface of the meteor displayed the ultramarine hue with the brilliance of a burning star. His head suddenly snapped round and he met Misty's eyes, and she looked at him oddly. He gave his little lopsided grin again.

"I wanna touch the space rock."

Misty slapped a hand to her forehead in frustration. "Ash, don't touch the space rock."

"But I want to."

"And I'm telling you not to." She moved to grab his arm and hold him back, but he pushed her away with surprising strength.

'Well, it wasn't a question. I said I'm touching the space rock, so I'm going to touch the space rock."

"For the love of Mew Ash, you don't even know what it is yet!"

"Yeah, and I said I would find out. This is me, finding out." He made his excuses and moved towards the floating sphere of jagged black rock. Taking a deep breath, he steadied himself, and reached out a hand. As soon as it grazed the cracked surface of the meteor, the rock began to slide away, almost like it was shedding its skin. The inside glowed brighter, and Ash recoiled away. As the last pieces of the rocky outer layering crumbled and fell to the floor, Ash was able to see what it had been hiding. What now floated in front of him was a white sphere of thick carved stone, covered in runic patterns and symbols that glimmered with the same turquoise hue. Ash heard Misty gasp slightly, but it barely registered with his mind, as he was almost totally focused on the object in front of him. A high pitched noise sounded suddenly from with the sphere, causing Ash to reel back and cover his ears, along with Misty, who was still observing from just above Ash on the outside of the crater. The runic plates started to separate, fragmenting along the carved lines and floating slowly away from the centre. All that was left as the plated surface separated was a ball of glowing blue energy, almost blinding in the intensity of it's shine. Ash's eyes adjusted, and he was able to observe the light as it illuminated the area properly, without the confines of the stone prison it had been kept in. It was so inviting…Ash couldn't help reaching a hand out to it.

He was in no way prepared for what happened next.

The light suddenly leapt out from it's position floating above the crater, and latched onto Ash's hand. Ash yelped in fear as the strange light seemed to absorb itself into his hand, disappearing into his body. The veins that were visible on his arms and neck stood out suddenly, glowing the same blue of the previous light. Misty realized what was happening and screamed, dashing forward in an effort to try and help Ash, but she was grabbed from behind and pulled away, kicking at the floor and shouting profanities. Gary had grabbed her from behind, arriving at the scene as with the rest of the group. Ash flailed and danced around the spot as if he had been set on fire, screaming in pain and terror. The blue glow in his veins dulled, but his screaming did not cease. A voice sounded in Ash's head, simultaneously no more than a whisper but louder than the end of the world.

"_Awaken!"_

Ash's entire body began to emit a striking glow of sharp cobalt blue. Misty fought with Gary to let her go, but he held fast, as Clemont, Serena, Bonnie and Pikachu all watched, dumbfounded and paralyzed with fear at the same time. Ash stumbled slightly, clutching at his skull, before he threw his head back and let out a final howl of agony. The blue glow surrounding him erupted skyward, sending out a huge pillar of blinding blue light that seemed to reach far beyond the Earth's atmosphere, puncturing the cold darkness of space with unfathomable power. A few minutes passed, Ash's screams of torment only growing in intensity as Misty grappled with Gary and Pikachu tried in vain to shock the light into submission. Finally, as quickly as it had appeared, the light dissipated, leaving only Ash in the centre of the crater. He stood for a moment, vision blurred, clothes smoking slightly, sending small cinders into the air. Everyone held their breath, awaiting his next movement.

Ash fell hard on the dirt floor, his breath shortening and his eyes closing as everything faded into blackness.

* * *

**9:33 PM, Azalea Town**

At the Pokémon centre in Azalea town, May was getting ready for bed. She'd had a long day training with her Pokémon, and now it was time to wind down and relax for the night. As she finished brushing her teeth, a horrendously loud noise sounded from outside. Still holding her toothbrush, she looked towards the window. It hadn't sounded close, but it had been loud. She quickly threw the bathroom window open, and looked around for the source of the noise. She couldn't see anything particularly out of the ordinary. Then she turned her head west, looking towards the Kanto region. The light was so bright that she could barely make out what was happening, but as her eyes adjusted, she had a perfect view of what was taking place in Pallet town.

The toothbrush clattered to the floor.

Luckily she hadn't changed yet. She ran out of her room in the Pokémon centre and smacked on the door of the room opposite.

"Drew, get out here, you are not gonna believe what's going on outside!"

* * *

**Indigo Plateau**

Lance was just finishing up for the night when his office was filled with the blue light. He hadn't shut the blinds, and after the deafening noise had resonated throughout the building, the piercing blue light swiftly followed. He shielded his eyes with his forearm, grabbing for the phone on his desk. He quickly dialed the number, and waited for the ring to end. The light intensified, and Lance cried out in pain as the light intensified even further, burning into his eyes. The person on the other end of the line finally picked up.

"Lance, are you seeing this?! What the hell is going on?!" Lorelei shouted down the line, and Lance flinched slightly at the volume of her voice.

"I have no idea, but we need to get people down there now! I'll take Dragonite and meet you outside Pallet Town, radio a few agents and pull up a cleanup crew. Whatever it is, we need to shut it down before people start asking questions." Lance spoke in a commanding tone, before placing the phone back on the receiver. He ran to the far end of the office and picked up his Pokéball belt. Hastily throwing on his cape, he clicked a button next to the large office window and it opened out to a balcony. He released Dragonite from the Pokéball, and jumped onto his back.

"Dragonite, I need you to fly me to that light over there! Fast as you can!"

"Baruh!" Dragonite gave the affirmative and leapt into the sky, gone in a gust of wind.

* * *

**Somewhere on Mount Silver**

From the gaping maw of the mountain cave, the man observed the pillar of light extending into the night sky. He chuckled with malevolent glee, slicking a bony hand through his pale blue hair. His outfit, once kept pristine and untouched by none but himself, was now torn and ragged, riddled with shreds and tears that showed the ghostly pale skin underneath.

It was happening. Finally, after waiting so long, he was watching it happen. He marked the date and time, because it was now that the plan he had waiting to start for so long was finally in motion. It brought a sadistic smile to his dead eyed expression. It made him want to laugh.

So he did. And what was first a low chuckle soon grew to become the depraved cackle of the demented man in the mountain cave.

The end had begun. And it all started here.

* * *

**Ooohhhh, foreboding! I'm building dramatic tension like a mother trucker over here. Anyway, reviewers!**

**Reviewer Responses:**

**NoSignalBlueScreen**: Thanks for reading my friend, glad you enjoyed and stuff! I think that Misty could totally get violent enough to do that, but I may have still set her fuse a little to short, if you get what I mean. I like having a bunch of characters as well, because I like having a variety of people to work with as I'm writing, and that'll show through in later chapters. Also, about the lines for perspective changes, I do actually put them in on word, it's just they don't transfer to the doc manager, and because I was in a rush to upload chapter 2 I forget to re-insert them.

**pikagurl23: **Yeah, I wanted to make a point of having them the right age. I feel like having the main characters at around age fourteen-fifteen is the kind of age where they are still young enough to be identified as the characters we know and love, but old enough to still be different in certain ways. Darkness will be plentiful in this story, but not so much that it eclipses the lighter side of things. Thanks very much for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay. It's here. And you better appreciate it. I busted my ass to finish this in time, and between coursework and friends, I'm about to die of catastrophic heart failure. **

**WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING HERE? READ!**

* * *

_Chapter 4: Hospital Gowns_

**Nowhere**

Darkness.

Everywhere he looked, darkness.

He floated and bobbed quietly in the dead space, as though it were the depths of the darkest ocean trench.

The endless void, stretching beyond the limits of the human of imagination, far into eternity.

Suddenly, a flash of light.

The crack and roll of calamitous thunder.

The darkness was awash with swirling, shifting patterns, all of strange colours, that he couldn't quite perceive.

More thunder.

In the distance…In the darkness…Pokémon and humans…Battling…

No, fighting.

With eachother.

Warring.

The foul coppery stench of blood and rot filled the somehow airless space, bringing with it the soul-rending screams and howls of those who clashed in the dark. He clutched at his ears, trying to drown out the blood-curdling discord.

"_You can save them."_

He looked overhead, seeing the holder of that otherworldly voice.

The light.

"_You can do it. You must. You can save them. I believe you can save them. I __**know **__you can save them."_

Vivid cobalt light shone in the space above, reaching out to him, bathing him in it's warm glow as it spoke.

"_I have watched you save them before. I know you can do it again." _The light above voiced it's belief, almost like a chant, slowly drowning out the cries of the dying. As he watched, the light swirled and began to dissipate, leaving behind an odd looking structure that he couldn't quite make out.

He squinted just a little…

A castle.

No…A palace…

He recognized it…

"What does this mean? Is this were you want me to go?" He spoke finally, shouting into the emptiness, looking desperately for an answer. As if it were an affirmative to his question, the innermost regions of the palace began to exude the same light he saw before. He grasped at it desperately as it began to move away into the furthest reaches of the blackness, and the pale glow faded. He began to fall, slowly at first, but eventually picking up speed. He screamed, but no sound left his mouth as he hurtled down into the abyss. As he fell silently, the distant, steady bleeping of machinery began to sound in his head.

Wait…

* * *

**April 23****rd****, 4:02 AM: Viridian City Hospital**

Ash sat up dead straight in his bed, drenched in a cold, sticky sweat. He sucked in large, calming breaths, trying to keep himself from crying out in fear. He allowed himself to take in his surroundings, quickly coming to terms with what was happening. His eyes flickered quickly between the grubby white of the walls to the heart monitor beeping away at his side.

"Hospital…But why am I here?" Ash murmured, voicing his thoughts to no-one in particular.

A sudden flicker in his mind's eye.

He remembered. The meteorite, the explosion, the pain…The light.

He remembered.

His gaze passed over the clock on the wall next to him. 4:02 AM.

As he went to move his legs across the side of the bed in an effort to stand, he noticed someone sitting to his side, just in front of the olive green hospital curtain. A flash of red-hair and a trademark side ponytail.

_Misty. _

She sat on a (rather uncomfortable looking) steel chair in the corner of the small space. Her head was tilted slightly, and her bangs fell over her eyes as she snored lightly. He noticed she was still wearing her clothes from earlier, but they were marked with dirt and tears in some places. She held Azurill in her arms, and Pikachu lay at her foot, both of them sleeping soundly as well. Ash decided it might not be best to wake them yet. Cautiously, he slipped out of the bed, keeping an eye on the three dosing forms off to the right of it. He realized that he was in a hospital gown, and looked around desperately for something to change into. Spotting some things on the bed-side table, he reached out a hand for them, and changed quickly, so as not alert the others who occupied the room.

'Ugh, hospital gowns." He muttered quietly to himself.

Once he was done, he looked himself over. He was wearing a plain, short sleeved black top along with a pair of slightly baggy denim jeans, and a red sneaker on each foot. He placed the gown back on the bed, and clambered over it in order to sit on the other side, facing Misty. He hesitated for a moment, before gingerly placing his hands on her shoulders. He shook her slightly, trying to wake her from her slumber. He knew she was a fairly light sleeper.

"Miiiistyyy…Wake uuup…" He cooed in a sing-song tone as she shifted a little, and slowly cracked her eyes open. They widened, and her already pale skin turned even more so. Azurill was also waking up by this point, and she slowly set him down on the floor next to the still sleeping Pikachu.

"…Surprised to see me awake so soon?" He joked. Once again, his joke didn't provoke quite the reaction he wanted it too, and she gave him a furious look. He steeled himself for a slap in the face, but it never came. Instead, Misty simply looked relieved. Her eyes glistened slightly, and she slowly leaned forward and snaked her arms under Ash's. Placing her head on his shoulder, she held on tight, much to Ash's confusion.

"Uh..M-Misty? What's wrong? Did…Uhm..d-did something happen while I was asleep?" Ash inquired nervously, but with a worried tone. He was simply met with silence, as Misty continued to hold him tight. Feeling slightly apprehensive, Ash just decided to drop it, and instead opted for moving his arms around her back, returning the hug. They stayed like that in silence for a few minutes, Ash confused and desperately trying to work out why she was hugging him. She started shaking in his arms, and Ash's eyes widened. He had no idea how to respond to this, and he was terrified of saying something he shouldn't.

"Mist…I…Don't cry, it's gonna be okay…Whatever _it _is…" He spoke in a comforting tone, which just made her shake more. He was at a loss for words. Until he realized what was actually happening.

She was laughing.

She pulled her head back from his shoulder, and he watched her in utter confusion as she continued to guffaw with merriment at some unseen hilarity.

"Misty, what the hell? Look, calm down, it's four in the morning and we're in a hospital, kay?" Ash hushed her, motioning to the space around them. She tried to halt her laughter, and managed to succeed.

"Sorry, Ash, I just…" She lay back in her chair as Pikachu stirred on her floor.

'What's going on? Can ya just tell me already instead of acting like a total ass in the middle of a hospital ward? What are ya laughin' at?" He placed his hands carefully on her shoulders and waited for her to calm.

"I'm just laughing cause…They said you might not wake up." She finished finally, wiping a tear from her eye and giggling a little more.

"…And that's somethin to laugh about…Why?" Ash cocked an eyebrow at her, showing his bewilderment.

"Well, I didn't believe them at first. They said that you were in a coma, and it was a possibility that you might never wake up again. At first I didn't believe them, cause, well…you're Ash. You always wake up. So I offered to stay the night here because your Mom wasn't here, and after a little while…I started believing that maybe you might not get up this time. I fell asleep…And now here you are, and I feel kind of silly ever thinking that you wouldn't wake up. It was pretty funny, only Brock and Pikachu and Gary agreed with me. I'll have to tell em, put their fears to rest." Misty concluded, as Pikachu leapt up into Ash's arm.

"Hey Buddy, how're you doin'?" Ash laughed as Pikachu tackled him onto bed. Pikachu responded by licking Ash's face several times, causing Ash to start giggling.

"Pikachu, t-that t-tickles, stop…s-stop!" He rolled his head away from Pikachu who started giggling as well, along with Misty. Finally, Ash got hold of Pikachu, and set him aside on the bed.

"Oh…Oh jeez…" Ash spluttered and gasped for breath, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. Misty kicked him lightly in the shin, still smiling herself.

"I thought you said we had to be quiet, Ketchum." She said in a playful manner, and Ash responded with another grin before the two fell silent. They sat there for a moment or two, Misty relieved at Ash's stable condition, and Ash relieved to be away from his dreams. But then, something occurred to Misty.

"Uh…Ash? How are you feeling?" Misty ran an eye over his form as he sat up on the bed and Pikachu moved off him.

"What do ya' mean Mist?" Ash folded his arms over his chest and leaned forward slightly.

"Well…When you came in…You were in pretty bad shape. You were covered in burns, your eyes were bloodshot, your ears were bleeding and your back and chest were covered in cuts. But…I can't see any of those burns now." Misty queried, and Ash just looked slightly confused. He stood up and pulled his T-shirt over his head, causing Misty to blush a little. He turned on the spot for her to inspect, and she noticed something odd.

"Well, can you see anything?" Ash spoke over his shoulder with his back to Misty. She looked up at him and shook her head.

"No…All your injuries are gone…But…That's really weird…" Misty squinted towards Ash, running her eyes over him, making Ash feel slightly self-conscious.

"What, have I got a third arm or somethin'? What is it?"

"You seem…I dunno how to say this…But…You seem _bigger._" She gestured with her arms, with a puzzled tone. Ash turned round to face her fully, and he gave himself a once over.

She was right. His muscles, while still quite lean, were now a lot more pronounced. He felt a little taller as well, which was an odd feeling to have. He didn't exactly look like a body builder, but he was definitely a little bigger than before. He picked up his shirt again and pulled it over his head.

"Well…Tellin the truth…I feel a little weird. I mean…I don't really know how to explain it. It's like I've just done a warm up for some training or something, I feel really pumped and ready to go. I didn't feel tired at all when I woke up."

Misty looked thoughtful for a moment, pondering a few things in her head. Azurill pushed at her leg, and she picked him up, looking back towards Ash.

"It definitely has something to do with that meteor. But I have no idea what it could be. You should ask Lance about it when we get back to the hotel."

"Lance? Hotel?" Ash gave her a disconcerted look, and Misty realized that she had forgot to fill Ash in on the details of how and why he was in the hospital bed.

"Sorry Ash, I should probably tell you what happened between last night and this morning."

"Go, on I'm listening." Ash reclined slightly on the hospital bed as Misty cleared her throat.

"Okay. You remember everything that happened last night, right? The meteor, the explosion, passing out and stuff?"

"Mostly, yeah."

"Okay, well, after you passed out, we were kind of at a loss for what to do. Clemont and Bonnie went to get Professor Oak while me, Gary and Serena stayed with you and tried to wake you up. While we were waiting for Clemont and Bonnie, Lance arrived on his Dragonite, and asked us to tell him what happened. We filled him in on the explosion and everything, and Clemont and Bonnie came back with Professor Oak. Him and Lance gave you a look over before Lance radioed for an air ambulance to Viridian City. Clemont and Bonnie had gotten your Mom as well, and she said that Clemont, Bonnie and Serena could stay with her while Gary, Pikachu and I went with you and Lance on the helicopter. Everyone was really worried, and Bonnie started crying saying that she was scared, so your mom said that in the morning they could take Charizard and Staraptor up to see you. We got on the helicopter, and we got to Viridian City hospital. This was around midnight-ish by the way. They took you into the emergency care ward, and after about an hour, Brock, May and Drew arrived. Apparently, they'd seen the explosion, and they knew you were in Pallet cause you'd asked them if they wanted to meet up with you. They'd come to Pallet to try and find out what the hell was going on, and Professor Oak told them what had happened, so they had taken Drew's Flygon and your Swellow up to Viridian. After about another hour, a Doctor came out and said that you were comatose, and you might not wake up. There were a lot of tears and angst and stuff, but Pikachu ran in through the door and refused to leave, threatening to shock anyone that came close. The doctor said that they were short of staff, but they couldn't leave a Pokémon unsupervised in with the you. So, I offered to stay the night, partly to keep an eye on Pikachu and to keep an eye on you, and they said that was fine. I came in here and sat with you about 2 hours ago, but I was really tired, so I fell asleep. And then you woke me up, and here we are." Misty paused, as if for breath more than any conversational reason. Ash sat for a moment, allowing himself to take in the information. There was another moment of silence.

"How come you aren't in your hospital gown?" She said, realizing the change for the first time.

"Well, I hate hospital gowns. And there were some spare clothes here when I woke up, so…" He gestured to the table beside the bed, and Misty nodded. Pikachu tugged at his shirt slightly, grabbing his attention.

"What is it buddy? You hungry?" Ash inquired, and Pikachu shook his head.

(I wanted to tell you that Gary brought those clothes in for you. Weird, huh?)

Ash smiled to himself. "Nah, I guess it's not that weird. He knows I don't like hospital gowns." Misty looked as though she were about to ask Ash what Pikachu had said, but lost interest and dropped the matter.

"So, what do you wanna do Mist? It's four in the morning, but I'm not getting back to sleep anytime soon." Ash stood up and stretched his arms, cracking his knuckles.

"Well…I dunno. You can't exactly leave the hospital, but we should probably try and get someone up here, to check you're okay." Misty reached over and pressed the buzzer next to the hospital bed. As they sat there in silence, waiting for a nurse, they noticed the soft patter of rain on the window at the end of the room. After a few moments of listening, Misty began to doze. And all to soon she was lost in her slumber once more, leaving Ash alone with his thoughts.

Mainly thoughts about how hungry he was.

* * *

**4:04 AM: Undisclosed Location**

"Play it again. Slow it down just before the explosion."

The very same rain was striking the windows of Giovanni's office, dribbling lazily across the window pane behind the closed blinds of the room. It was dark, but for a single light that emanated from the projected image the crime-lord was watching. It was a three minute video of the event that had taken place in Pallet Town just a few hours ago. The footage had been taken from a remote spy drone that had been in the area, tracking Ash Ketchum and his friends. The drone had been knocked by flying debris after the initial blast, but remained intact enough to transmit the video back to headquarters. He had watched it several times over now, and each time he was at a loss for how to explain it. On screen, he watched Ash stumble back just before the explosion happened. He clicked his fingers, and the recording slowed.

"Zoom in on Ketchum, and pause." The video moved in, enlarging Ash on the screen, mere milliseconds before the explosion occurred. It was easily noticeable that Ash was different. His body gave off a faded yet still present lucid radiance, and his eyes were the same, but the gleam of the light was amplified into a piercing sapphire glare. Ash's expression was not one of fear nor one of pain as in moments before and after this part of the recording, but more one of horrible realization. He pondered this for a moment, but was snatched from his thoughts as he heard his office door open. He knew who it was. The leather chair he sat on swiveled as he turned to face the newcomer.

"Any luck with getting any information so far, boss?" Domino leaned against the desk dressed her trademark elite attire, a tight black top with the Rocket logo emblazoned on the chest, along with a white miniskirt and arm length gloves with pink trim. The garish outfit was completed with a pair of knee high white dress boots, and a white and pink and white cap which sat above her shoulder length blonde curls. Her expression was not one of malice, but the sharpness in her emerald eyes reflected a certain cruelty that lurked beneath the veil.

"Nothing significant so far. It is my understanding that Ketchum was hospitalized not long after this event, however." Giovanni turned back on his chair and clicked his fingers. The blinds retracted, revealing the view of the cityscape beyond.

"We may not have to deal with him after all then." Domino concluded, and Giovanni shook his head.

"No. He will recover from this. I guarantee that our client asking us to 'take care' of him and this event happening just after is not something of sheer coincidence. I feel that something far bigger is at large here, and we would do well to be cautious." Giovanni surmised, standing from his chair in order to better observe the view he had.

"Well, considering the grunts are taking care of raid work…What would you like me to do?" Domino asked in a bored tone, sitting atop Giovanni's desk and observing her fingernails. If any other than Domino had done this, Giovanni would have put a gun to their head within moments.

"Send someone to take a sample of the meteor that fell, and have them send it to Saturn. Team Galactic has better research capabilities than us, it would be better suited for them to do the tests. After you have enlisted someone to do this, I would like for you to track Ketchum yourself. And before you say anything, you know I would not send you to do this if I did not think it was important."

He spoke without turning from the window. Domino looked as though she might protest for a moment, but opted not to.

"Yes sir. Is there anything else you would like me to do?" She said in a mockingly serious tone, and Giovanni gave a tiny chuckle.

"No, that will be all." Domino nodded. She held her hand up, clutching a small flash capsule. With a smirk and a flash of light, she was gone.

"Show off." Giovanni muttered under his breath, before reseating himself and starting the recording for the ninth time that night.

* * *

**7:16 AM: Viridian City Hospital**

"Well Mr. Ketchum, all of your results check out. You're very surprisingly healthy considering your state when you arrived here. While I am at a loss to explain this and would like to run a few more tests, I imagine you've had quite enough?" The doctor looked up from his clipboard and adjusted his silver-framed glasses, pushing them up across the bridge of his nose. Ash nodded hurriedly, and Pikachu tugged at his shirt once more, urging him to be done with the matter. Misty sat off to the side, feeding Azurill a small snack from her red bag.

"In that case, I will discharge you from the hospital. You're free to go."

"Thanks doctor…uh…what was it again?" Ash inquired, having forgotten the doctor's name during the course of the tests. The doctor smiled and adjusted his glasses slightly once more.

"Doctor Freeman, Mr. Ketchum. And I hope I don't have to see you here again." He said with a cheerful smile, and Ash laughed good-naturedly.

"Me neither. Thanks Doctor Freeman!" Ash said as the doctor turned to return to his office, leaving Ash and Pikachu alone in the waiting room.

"Well buddy, looks like I'm free to go. You wanna go see everyone at the hotel?" Ash scratched behind Pikachu's ears and the electric mouse Pokémon nodded. Ash stood up and Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder.

"Well Misty, you ready to go?" Misty turned her head at the sound of Ash's voice and nodded.

"Yeah, we gotta get to the hotel, I'm sure everyone else is anxious to see you."

Ash and Misty proceeded out of the small empty room and down metal grill stairs, walking towards the reception and out of the automatic doors. Ash stretched his arms and legs once he was outside, the sun now warm and inviting after the heavy rainfall of the night before. Puddles of many shapes and sizes dotted the pavement, . Misty put a hand into her pocket and fished around for a moment, before pulling out a piece of paper with the address of the hotel on it.

"Right…Okay, we're looking for 413, Jade Boulevard, Indigo View. Room 515. Do you have any idea where that is?" Misty asked, looking around for something that might direct them to their destination.

"No, but, you have a Pokégear, right? Isn't there a…Uh…What's it called..." Ash furrowed his brow in frustration, and Misty gave him a look of confusion.

"GPS?" Misty inquired, and Ash snapped his fingers and grinned.

"That's it! Don't you have a GPS on your Pokégear?" Misty looked thoughtful, and swung her red travel bag around her shoulder, opening it up and looking inside. She pulled the white Pokégear out, flipped it open, and clicked it on. A little jingle played, and Misty sighed in frustration. Finally the little screen light came on, and she thumbed around the touch screen for a moment as Ash hummed to himself opposite her.

"There! Got it. C'mon Ash, it's this way." She pointed down the road that the hospital sat just to the side of, that lead directly into the city centre. They made their way through Viridian, passing through each district with haste to get back to their hotel. The city was quiet, but not a nighttime quiet. It was as if the city itself was just starting to wake up. Lights flickered on in apartments and shops, people began to emerge from their houses in suits and ties and dresses and all manner of work attire, the cars of those who didn't wish to be stuck in early-morning traffic began to move by, signaling the start of another work day. Ash and Pikachu took in the sights of the city, the sun rising slowly on the horizon casting the great shadows of the office towers and skyscrapers across the roads that lay between these mighty trees of the concrete jungle. After about half an hour of walking, they reached the entrance of the hotel. The tower reached far into the sky from it's circular base, the beautiful glass archetype stretching across the end of Jade Boulevard. Ash whistled in appreciation as they made their way up the half circle steps towards the glass doors.

"Man, this is pretty fancy, huh?" Ash said to no-one in particular, craning his head in an effort to see to the top of the building. Pikachu nodded, and Misty scoffed.

"Duh. Lance booked the room. Did you think it would be some sort of sleazy motel room they were staying in?" Misty teased, and Ash didn't bother to respond. They moved quickly over to the reception, where a brown haired woman stood. She was fairly tall and clothed in a blue dress uniform, staring into a hand mirror as she applied lipstick. Misty rang the bell at the counter to get her attention, and she turned hastily, putting on a wide smile for the two children stood in front of her.

"Hello, and welcome to the Indigo View, how may I be…" She paused, taking in the two in the sight of the two in front of her properly for the first time. Misty's clothes had tears and spots of dust and dirt covering them, and while Ash was wearing vaguely clean clothes, he still had his usual bed-head black-hair and slightly dopey facial expression. Pikachu rode on his shoulder, also quite dirty from not having left Ash's side all night.

"Of…Service?" The receptionist sighed a little, and slouched slightly. Misty paid no mind to this, and pulled out the piece of paper from her shorts pocket again.

"Yeah, hey. Our friends are staying in room 515, and they said they'd left us a key to get in. Could we have it?" Misty leaned an arm on the desk, and the receptionist blinked slightly. She turned to a computer on the side just behind her, and clicked around for a few minutes. Ash and Misty tried to see what she was doing, but to no avail. After a few moments, she turned back around, a slightly displeased look on her face.

"Okay, I don't get what the joke is here, but it's really not a funny one. Anyway, you made your little funny, now go away and stop bothering me." She folded her arms across her chest, and Misty looked at her in total bewilderment.

"Um…I have no idea what you are talking about." Misty spoke slowly, and the receptionist gave her a withering stare.

"I know that you're trying to play some sort of prank or whatever. Nobody with clothes that dirty would ever get anywhere near the Indigo View. Let alone be friends with Lance. You're just some street kids trying to play a stupid trick."

Misty inspected her clothes, and sighed a little when she realized how she looked. She looked back up to the receptionist with a terse expression.

"Seriously, we aren't playing a joke. Lance told us to meet him in his room with the rest of our friends. We look like this cause we spent the night in a damn hospital, and haven't had time to shower since a meteor exploded in our faces. Either you get the key now, or you get Lance down here and have him explain this to you in a nice a simple way." Misty clenched her fists by her sides. Azurill popped out from inside her bag to see what all the fuss was about, but she didn't notice him. Pikachu smiled at the little blue Pokémon, and ushered him to go back to sleep.

"There's no way I'm getting him down here. You'll probably try to mug him or something!" The receptionist shouted, and Misty tensed up. Ash placed his hands on her shoulders in an effort to calm her down, but she shrugged him off.

"Okay. You have a minute to get him down here, or I'm going to come round and get the key myself. I am not gonna deal with this now. I got around three hours of sleep last night, seeing as I spent all night in a hospital with this jerk," She pointed to Ash "crying my eyes out, because I was scared out of my mind that he was going to die. I just want to get to the hotel room, so that we can talk to Lance. Do not make this harder than it has to be." Misty spoke through clenched teeth, and the receptionist blinked once more. She looked at Misty with careful consideration. She turned again, looking along the rack of room keys on the wall. She picked one out and handed it to Misty.

"Room 515. I'm only giving you this because of how genuine you sounded. But if I hear anything going on, I know exactly what you two look like, and I can tell the police." The receptionist finished, before going back to doing her lipstick. Misty turned to Ash with a slightly red face, from previous anger and from the fact that she had just admitted to crying her eyes out over him. Ash decided simply to let the matter go. It wasn't wise to start something this early in the morning. They made their way through the plush lounge area over to the elevators. They stood in silence as the tinny elevator music sounded quietly from speakers on the interior of the red carpeted box. After a little while of waiting, the door finally opened. At the very end of the doorway was the door labeled 515. They moved towards it quickly, but not before one of the doorways before it opened. Room 513.

May walked out of the doorway, dressed in her usual clothes. An orange sleeveless vest jacket with black collar, a pair of very tight black shorts that came just above her knee, some orange and green running shoes and a light green bandana tied over her head. The outfit was completed with her yellow side pouch, and her trainer belt. She yawned and stretched, obviously having just woken up. She went to adjust her green bandana so that it was on just right, but stopped when she noticed Ash and Misty stood in the hallway, watching her.

"Hey May!" Ash spoke across the hallway, and she gave Misty a little confused look, and Misty simply smiled in return. The thirteen year-old smiled back, and jogged over to them, tackling Ash into a bear hug. Pikachu cried out indignantly, hopping from Ash's shoulder and to the floor.

'Hey Ash! Man am I glad to see that you're up on your feet again!" She shouted over his shoulder, hugging him tightly.

"Ack! What is it with people and hugs all of a sudden?" Ash shouted, taken aback by May tackling him. Misty smiled and shook her head.

"People are just glad to see you Ash. Take it as a compliment." And with that Misty left to go and see Lance, Pikachu padding behind her. The door opposite May's room opened, and Drew stepped out. His eyes widened slightly at the sight of May hugging Ash, but only for a split second. He gave a flick of his fringe, pushing his just about shoulder length grass green hair out of his face. He adjusted his purple, short sleeved dress shirt, open to reveal a black long sleeved shirt that covered the rest of his arms. As he ambled over to Ash, who May had now let go of, with his all black dress shoes, he placed his hands into the pockets of his turquoise trousers and gave his usual air of snide combativeness.

"Well, well, well, would you look at that? You're all better. You looked like total crap last time I saw you Ash." Drew smirked at the trainer, and May turned around and shot daggers at him.

"I'm gonna make you look like crap if you don't shut it, Rosy!" May yelled, and Drew just tutted.

"Chill May. People are sleeping." Was his simple response, and the door to room 514 opened, revealing a sleepy looking Brock.

"Correction. People 'were' sleeping." He spoke in a drowsy voice, rubbing one of his eyes with the palm of his hand. Brock was dressed in a pair of cream white slacks, with an olive green polo shirt and a pair of blue and white sneakers. He yawned audibly, reaching around the corner of the door and grabbing his orange and brown sleeveless vest jacket, and putting it on hastily as he moved out to greet Ash and the others.

"Hey Brocko. You want a hug too? Everyone just seems to be lining up for them at the moment." Ash grinned, and Brock returned it, ruffling his jacket collar slightly.

"Good morning to you too buddy." Brock punched Ash on the shoulder lightly, and Ash laughed cheerfully. Ash embraced his spiky haired friend, who chuckled a little.

"You almost had me worried last night Ash. _Almost_. Do it again, and I will kill you."

"Yeah, whatever. I know I'm invincible."

"Apparently so, big guy. Speaking of which…You do seem a little bigger." Brock remarked, taking a step back to observe the fourteen year-old, who was almost as tall as he was now.

"Yeah, I noticed that. You been working out or something Ash?" May put her hands on her hips and leaned forward slightly, inspecting Ash, much to Drew's displeasure. Ash scratched his head, and hummed to himself, genuinely trying to remember if he had or not.

"Well…Does Pokémon training count?" Ash asked the younger girl, and Brock facepalmed hard.

"Yes Ash. Training Pokémon counts towards working out." May rolled her eyes, and Ash beamed, obviously not realizing the sarcasm behind what she had said.

"Ah! Ash, you're awake. And you certainly look better." A voice sounded from the end of the hall, and Lance emerged from the doorway, slicking back his spiked, fiery red hair. He was wearing his usual champion outfit, minus the cape. A collared navy blue jumpsuit with a 3 sets of orange lines in diamond-patterns running across the front, and orange lined charcoal shaded cuffs. Along with this was a black leather belt tightened across his midriff, a pair of black leather gloves and black leather boots that the trousers of the jumpsuit were tucked into. All of this fit together to give him quite a stunningly regal appearance, fitting for the dragon-master.

By Lance's standards, being the champion involves a lot of black leather.

"Hey Sir Lance!" Ash waved from across the corridor, and Brock facepalmed again. Lance chuckled, and walked across the hallway, holding his hand out for Ash to shake.

"Hello again Ash. It's good to see you." Ash took the hand gratefully and shook it, still beaming. He looked as though he were about to speak, but Lance stopped him.

"Save your questions for inside, Ash. I certainly have a lot for you. Better if we ask them all together." And with that, the dragon master turned on his heel and walked back into his room. Ash looked around to everyone, and they nodded. Ash walked into Lance's room, and everyone else followed.

Lance's room, while still adhering to the size of a normal hotel room, was definitely much more exaggerated than another's would be. The carpet was a white plush, that gave off a distinct air of comfort in the room. Directly across from the door was a small lounge area, with a coffee table, two red leather sofa's either side, and a TV at it's head. Just past that was a large circular window, that gave an amazing view of the rest of the city Indigo Tower in the distance. A gold framed door behind the small lounge area indicated an actual bedroom, and a door in the corner of the room was open to reveal a pure white, marble floored bathroom.

Gary, Misty and Pikachu sat with Lance in the lounge area, and Lance gestured for Ash to take a seat. Gary sipped at coffee, and Ash viewed him with perplexed countenance. Gary noticed this and put the coffee down.

"What?"

Ash seemed to snap out of a sort of trance. "Oh, nothing. Just…that's twice I've seen you drinking coffee now. You always used to hate it."

Gary smirked at this. "Well, I started drinking it lately. Mainly for if I was up all night working, or as a stress reliever."

This made Ash even more confused. "But why would you be stress—"

Gary gave him a disbelieving stare, and the realization dawned on Ash. "…Oh."

"Yeah. Oh. Even I worry about you sometimes Ash." Gary brought the coffee back to his lips and took another sip.

"And that leads us very nicely on to what I wanted to ask you Ash. As Misty may have told you, I have already been filled in on the events of last night. I would like to know how you actually feel, and if anything odd has transpired between then and now."

"Well… There are definitely a few really weird things that have happened. Apart from the whole meteor explosion bit. Number one, I guess is…Well, it's that I feel totally fine. I don't have any injuries anywhere, and if anything I have more energy than before. I haven't felt like resting at all so far, and normally if you woke me up at four in the morning I'd wanna go straight back to sleep. Second…I had this really weird dream."

"A dream? What happened in your dream, Ash?" Lance quizzed. Ash filled everyone in on the events of his dream, and there was a reigning silence after he had finished, as everyone contemplated what this could mean. Everyone was so focused on trying to figure this out, that nobody noticed Azurill tumble out of Misty's little red bag that she had put to the side of the sofa.

"Okay then…So, this palace. Did you recognize it at all?" Lance questioned again, and Ash nodded.

"Yeah. I did. It was Cameron Palace." Ash finished, and May's eyes widened.

"You mean that place where we met Lucario and Mew?" May shouted, and all heads snapped to her.

"The very same. And I think…Whatever was in my dream, whatever this light was…It wanted me to go there." Ash finished, leaving the silence once again, before Lance spoke up.

"I'm not quite sure what this all means…But I think, if you are up for it, then you should go to Cameron Palace and possibly find out how all of these things link." Lance suggested, and Ash nodded.

"If I might interject for a moment Sir Lance," Brock addressed the Champion in a formal manner, and Lance turned, giving the young doctor-in-training his attention. "I think I have an idea of what might be happening here." Lance nodded, signaling Brock to continue.

"Cameron Palace is famous for it's rich history with the Aura Guardian Sir Aaron, right? And the last time we were there, we found out that Ash does actually have a powerful aura himself. A pattern I've found when people describe what's been happening, is that the colour blue has been involved a lot in the events of the past day or so. And blue is a colour generally recognized, by people who have knowledge of the subject, to be the colour of aura energy. So, I think all of this has something to do with Ash's aura." Brock concluded, and let what he had said sink in, as the elevator at the other end of the floor opened and closed. Pikachu hopped off the sofa, and looked around the side. Ash looked as though he was about to speak, but Pikachu shouted something unrecognizable from behind the sofa, before leaping back up with a distraught expression on his face.

"Pikachu? Hey, calm down buddy. What's wrong?" Ash said, now worried at the thought of something having gone wrong.

(Azurill! Azurill's gone Ash, and I can't find him!) Pikachu shouted at his trainer, who turned slightly pale, before looking over the sofa, and over the sides. After realizing that Pikachu was not kidding around, he sat back in his normal position on the sofa and exhaled shakily.

"Ash? What's up dude? You look like you've seen a Gastly." Gary acquiesced, and Ash just sat there.

"Oh. Oh nothing. Except…Uh, Misty, don't freak out. You gotta promise me you won't freak out."

"Freak out? Why would I freak out? What did you do?!" She raised her voice, but Ash didn't flinch.

"Just promise."

"Okay…I promise I won't freak out."

Ash sighed long and hard. "Azurill…Azurill is missing." There was a dead silence in the room for a moment, before Misty jumped up out of her chair and dashed around the room trying to find Azurill, calling his name in a pleading tone. Brock moved over to her and grabbed her arm, stopping her from running out towards the elevator, and she turned to him, with teeth clenched.

"Brock, let me go, I have to find him." She said with a tense edge to her voice.

"Misty, just calm yourself, and think this through."

"I said let me go!" She raised her voice again, and Brock just pulled her back to her seat, where she sat with a huff, folding her arms across her chest.

"Where did you last see him Misty?" May stood up and moved across to the other sofa, where Misty and Ash sat.

"He was in my bag. And now he's not. So let me go find him." Misty snapped to no-one in particular.

"I couldn't just let you run off into the city on your own Misty. We need to think about this. He couldn't have gone far, I saw him in your bag when you came in. But this is a big city. We'll split into groups to find him." Brock suggested. Everyone nodded, and stood up, preparing to leave.

"Okay. I'll go with May, and Drew. This hotel is fairly close to the city centre, so we'll search to the right of the hotel. Ash, Misty, Gary, you can search to the left." Everyone nodded once more at Brock's request, and they moved down the hallway to the elevator.

"I'll go overhead on Dragonite and try and find something." Lance recommended. Brock nodded, and Lance moved into the bedroom to retrieve his Pokéballs. Brock moved into the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor. And with a whir of heavy machinery, the steel doors slid closed.

* * *

**10:01 AM: Viridian City**

"Azurill!"

"Azurill"

"Hey, Azurill!"

"Pi, Pika!"

Ash, Gary, Misty and Pikachu moved through the alleyways of Viridian City's apartment district, calling for the lost Pokémon. They had been searching through streets and in buildings for just over an hour now, and they had only a few vague sightings of the aquamarine Pokémon to go on. The vast confines of the city were proving very difficult to conquer for the small group of friends. It was, for lack of a better expression, like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

Only this needle was tiny on an atomic scale, and the city was bigger than the ego of a ten year-old Gary Oak.

The gang of teenagers were certainly not hurrying as they moved through their newest alley to check, looking in and around every bin and dumpster in sight, usually encountering nothing but rotted fruit, discarded packages, and the odd used condom. Chattering around the corner of one of the buildings caught Ash's attention, and he called for everyone to join him.

"What is it Ash, you find anything?" Gary said, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. A distraught, panicky, yet composed Misty stood just to his side, eyes darting around the alley as if there was something she had missed.

Or something she had "Mist."

It was a really bad time for making puns.

"Yeah, I heard someone around that corner. We should ask em if they've seen anything." Ash recommended, and Gary gave him a curious look.

"Are you sure about that Ashy-Boy? For all we know, they could be weirdo druggies."

"For all we know, they might not be weirdo druggies. C'mon." Ash motioned for them to follow him, and Gary and Misty exchanged a look, before reluctantly complying. They turned the corner, and the last thing they were expecting sat huddled at the end of the alleyway.

Azurill looked shaken, much like how Ash had looked when he found out that the little blue Pokémon was missing. Azurill was in fact, the only one in the alleyway, which Ash found strange. He could have sworn that he heard voices.

"Azurill!" Misty didn't even pay a thought to this as she ran across the alleyway.

"I thought you said you heard voices around here Ash?" Gary questioned, and Ash nodded.

"I swear I did. I wonder where they went…" Ash spoke. He took the time to look around the dead end alleyway for a moment. Something flashed suddenly in his mind as Misty picked Azurill up from in between two large dumpsters.

"_Behind the dumpster…"_

Ash's eyes widened, and he barely had time to react. "MISTY, LOOK OUT!" He shouted as he ran towards Misty and Azurill, but he was too late. Two men stood up from behind the dumpsters, and one grabbed Misty's arm as the other wrenched Azurill from her grasp. They both had thick arms, and barrel chests. One wore a denim jacket, a torn white t-shirt and a pair of ripped jeans, while the other wore a camo vest and a pair of cut shorts. Ash and Gary ran towards Misty in an effort to grab her and run, but they were stopped by a voice from behind them.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you." Ash and Gary both spun, and stared directly down the barrel of a ten millimetre pistol. The man behind the gun smirked dispassionately, showing lines of yellowy teeth. He wore a torn leather jacket, a stained yellow t-shirt, and pair of grubby denim jeans that were tucked into thick, black leather boots. He took a step towards the pair and motioned towards the ground with the gun.

"Ground. Now." He spat, and the pair dropped to their knees. The crook giggled with malice, stroking the muzzle of the gun as he watched the two teenagers.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" Gary croaked, staring at the man with his slicked back, unwashed hair.

"Well, as you must've figured by now, we ain't no friendly neighborhood. My name's Chet, and over there is Mitch and Mikey. We found your Azurill over there and figured we'd keep it. Then we heard you guys shoutin' it's name round the corner, and we decided to make the jump on ya. You can get outta this easy though. We just want you ta pay up for the Azurill and the girl over there, and ya can all go free. If you don't though…Mitch and Mikey are gonna start breakin the girl. You get what I'm sayin?" He chuckled slightly, and a wave of his sour breath washed over Ash's nostrils.

"How much?" Ash stared defiantly into Chet's eyes, even though he felt fear within.

"Oh, not too much. Hundred thousand." He chuckled, and Gary's eyes widened slightly.

"But…We don't have that kind of money!" Gary shouted, and Chet giggled a little.

"Well in that case, we'll take the girl instead. And I get to kill you both. Now, who should I start with…hm…" He flicked his outstretched finger between the pair, and after a few moments, it came to a rest pointed at Ash.

"Okay then. Looks like you're first to the jump kid. Any last words?" Ash whimpered a little, and he heard Misty sob slightly behind him. A small dash of yellow caught Ash's eye, and with a sudden cry of pain, the man was struck violently from behind. Pikachu shouted in anger, and the man spun just Ash the mouse Pokémon charged a thunderbolt, he hooked his foot towards Pikachu, catching it under his throat and violently kicking the Pokémon, sending it sprawling a good few feet. Pikachu yelped a cry of pain as it hit the concrete floor in the alley, before lying still. Chet wiped spit from his lower lip, before turning and pointing the gun back at Ash's head.

"Now that rat thing is gone…Lets take care of business." Chet placed a finger on the trigger.

Ash observed Pikachu's still form with shock, as Chet's action against his best friend sunk in. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as rage built inside him, filling his mind, churning, swirling, burning. He twitched slightly, shuddering under the weight that the deep fury carried.

Ash Ketchum had never truly been angry before.

But he felt it now.

Just before Chet could pull the trigger, Ash's hand shot towards the gun and wrenched it from his grasp with blinding speed. He tossed the gun aside, and Chet swung out a fist towards Ash's face. Ash caught it mid-air, snapping his head towards Chet, his face a mask of rage, his eyes taking on a sudden blue glow.

"What the he—AGH!" Chet cried out, more in shock than pain, as Ash clenched hard on the fist he held, crushing the bone with a horrible crunch. His eyes flashed with the cobalt shine and the air around him took on the same colour as it exploded outwards, knocking Gary over to his left, and sending Chet hurtling backwards across the length of the alley and into the brick wall at the other end. Mitch and Mikey dropped Misty and Azurill as her and Gary watched with awe. Ash turned as Mitch rushed him, and thrust a foot directly into his chest. Mitch's ribs cracked and he was thrown backwards by the sheer force of the kick, crashing into the dumpster to Misty's left and tumbling over backwards. Mikey let lose a deep throaty growl, and tried to hit Ash with a right hook, but to no avail. He simply caught the fist once more, bringing it round to Mikey's back and placing a knee into the dent of Mikey's leg joint, forcing him to the floor. There was a pop as he dislocated Mikey's arm, and the beefy thug fell facedown on the concrete, sobbing and whimpering. Ash panted, and the glow slowly faded from his eyes. He placed a hand to his head and stumbled backwards, grunting in pain. Misty picked Azurill up and moved quickly over to Ash, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Ash? Ash, are you alright?" She shook Ash slightly as Gary ran over, looking around cautiously for anyone else. Ash opened his eyes again and looked around in bewilderment.

"What…Happened? Where did that guy go?" Ash's speech was slurred and he stood shakily, his eyes glazing as he tried to work out what was going on.

"You…He's gone. You beat them all up." Misty answered, still a little in shock herself. Ash's eyes flicked from the turned over dumpster to the still shaking goon on the floor with his broken arm.

"_Pikachu!"_

Ash's eyes widened, and he pushed past Gary, sprinting across to the other side of the alley where Pikachu lay. He knelt beside him, holding out his hands to pick him up. Pikachu grunted slightly, and tried to get up. Ash ushered him to his feet, and the Pokémon panted, one of his front paws pressed against his shoulder.

"You okay there buddy?"

(Yeah. Yeah…I'm good. Might need a little medical attention. Just a smidge.)

Ash grinned, and picked Pikachu up, placing him on his shoulder.

"Well, we found Azurill. We should tell the others to stop searching." Ash suggested, and Misty nodded her head, bundling Azurill into one of her arms and reaching into her pocket for her Pokégear.

Someone tapped Ash on the back, and he turned to face a completely stunned Gary Oak.

"Okay, yeah, I'm glad everyone's alright and everything, but I seem to be the only one who is in any way shocked that you just took down three muggers, two of which were around six feet tall, and the other with a frickin' gun!" Gary gestured wildly with his arms, and Ash gave him a disconcerted look.

"Hey, I have no idea how I did that either. All I know is my head hurts and I want to sleep. But, I'm willing to bet that it was something to do with all this aura stuff. So Cameron Palace is a definite." Ash put a hand to his head as if to illustrate the point, rubbing his eye with the palm of his hand. Misty gave him a condescending look.

"And finally, Ash crosses the finishing line." Misty drawled in a sarcastic tone.

"Hey, shut up. In case you didn't notice I just saved everyone's butts from crazy muggers. Thank you would be nice."

"I didn't ask for your help! I had it totally under control."

"Yeah, sure, between the two beefy guys and the dumpsters, I was cheering go Misty all the way. You totally needed my help, admit it."

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"DID NOT!"

"DID T—"

Pikachu stepped between the two and released a thunderbolt, shocking the pair and stopping them from arguing any further, Ash took the hit completely, and shook it off. Misty…Well, she had a couple of ouchies.

"Thank you Pikachu. Now, lets get back to the hotel. We can tell Lance about what happened, then we'll go back to Pallet and get ready to go." Gary set out his plan, and Ash cocked an eyebrow at him.

"You're coming with me?"

Gary gave him another look of disbelief. "Duh. Why wouldn't I? You just took down three grown men with your bare hands. I want in."

"Fair enough. Just don't get in my way Oak." Ash joked, and Gary smirked, looking at the thug still lying on the floor, now unconscious.

"Trust me. I don't intend to."

* * *

**I promise that this will pay off in the next chapter. They're gonna start adventuring, I promise. **

**Promise.**

**Reviewer Responses**

**NoSignalBlueScreen:** Well, there's your answer. Space rocks aren't for touchin'. Only lookin'.

**Wraith Five: **I know of these problems, they're horrible habits I have and every time I notice myself reusing the word my brain tells me to completely restructure the paragraph. Sometimes I just don't notice though, so if this problem persists, point it out to me and I promise I'll fix it.

**Lil Green Devil:** Thanks! I was looking forward to the next chapter too. Then I wrote it. And now i'm not.

**Josh Spicer:** It will continue to get real. Trust me, the shiz is gettin real. Word. And thank you! I do try.

**Kai Hall: **Well, here it is! And in answer to your question, yes. I'm just trying to find ways to work Leaf into the story that I have planned.

**Thanks all for reading, see you in two weeks! **


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